Album Review: Tyler Joe Miller, Sometimes I Don’t, But Sometimes I Do

Maybe it’s his conversational delivery or straight-shooting lyrics. But there’s a homespun, guy-next-door vibe to Tyler Joe Miller’s Sometimes I Don’t, But Sometimes I Do, the BC-reared artist’s debut EP which, to its eternal credit, sounds unmistakably like a country record. And a strikingly self-effacing one at that. 

Witness the ballad “Maybe It’s Me” which takes ownership for a failed relationship, and “I Would Be Over Me Too” which sides with the ex for quickly moving on to another lover. Come to think of it, “Pillow Talkin’” — already a radio hit for Miller — also wears its heart on its sleeve, albeit in a more fanciful way than the aforementioned tracks.  

Arguably the record’s best track is its most distinctly upbeat. With its twangy steel and fiddle and winking lyrics, the audibly smirking “Sometimes I Do” frames Miller as a Friday night’s best friend and possible wingman. Nothing on Sometimes I Don’t, But Sometimes I Do seems poised to upend the country establishment as we know it, but it’s very well-crafted and a promising start to what will doubtless be a long and steady run.

Sometimes I Don’t, But Sometimes I Do was released November 6, 2020 on MDM Recordings Inc./Universal Music Canada
Listen to it here