"Witnessing American decay": John R. Miller announces fifth album The Great Unknowing, shares lead single "Tollbooth"

After a year of home demoing and road-testing the songs, Miller relocated to Tulsa to record at Leon Russell’s former Church Studio, drawn by the city’s musical history.

“Immediately the gears started turning,” Miller said. “Tulsa is one of the great legacy-bearing cities of American music – J.J. Cale is one of my all-time favourites, and Shelter Records was based there. So much of what I love in music history happened right around that block.”

"Tollbooth", the album's lead single, was inspired by the changing landscapes Miller observed while touring. “You tend to explore that territory in songs when you're doing it a lot, but some of them, like ‘Tollbooth’, seem to be more about witnessing American decay,” he explained. “When you revisit the same places over time, you get a sense for how the landscape is shifting, both literally and figuratively.”

Co-produced with longtime collaborator Adam Meisterhans, the LP features a band of Tulsa players including Paddy Ryan, Aaron Boehler, Muskrat Jones, and Grammy-nominated John Fullbright on piano and keyboards. The sessions were engineered by Gary Laney and Mike Prado at the Church Studio, using a restored 1977 Neve 8068 console once owned by Daniel Lanois and used on Bob Dylan’s Time Out of Mind.

“It was exciting and a little nerve-racking,” Miller admitted. “But collaborating with new people pushed everything forward. By the end of the first day in Tulsa I realised we had stumbled into something that felt pretty special.”

The record will be released on physical formats before digital, with Miller encouraging fans to support brick-and-mortar shops. He is currently on tour, with dates including appearances at Railbird Music Festival and Stockholm Roots Festival.

The Great Unknowing artwork

The Great Unknowing tracklist

“Don’t Bet On Me”
“Far From The Station”
“Tollbooth”
“Think I’ll Start Over”
“Looking For A Place To Die”
“Steering Wheel Drums”
“Daughter of Night”
“A World Away”
“Day Drinking”
“Golden Light”
“Two Days Clean”
“If You Could Only See Me Now”
“Double Lives”
“Static and White Noise”
“Cornbread and Pinto Beans”
“Walk of Life”