A.M. Mills puts a fresh twist on a classic sound in the Window Box EP

Window Box, the latest EP from Philly’s own A.M. Mills, has been a long time in the making. The retro songwriter has kept a fairly low profile since his former project Blood Feathers disbanded a few years ago (If your memory stretches back far enough, you may recall seeing the band play both Free at Noon and XPoNential Festival in 2010). Mills released a few songs online over the last couple of years, “Wreckin’ My World” and “Window Box,” which now appear on the new EP, along with four new tracks.

The songs on Window Box were recorded in San Francisco in 2013 but the full collection wasn’t released until this past November, when Mills surprise-released the EP on a Tuesday. Now, the EP has received a ringing endorsement from Joey Sweeney (yes, that Joey Sweeney), who shared “Wreckin’ My World” on his long-running blog Philebrity.

“If, say, Full Moon Fever-era Petty was what was driving the Blood Feathers at one point, AM Mills’ current sound seems to be coming from the same desert plain where they cut Bob Dylan’s Time Out Of Mind…As for “Wreckin’ My World,” it’s got a gravitational pull in a carousel-type, lonely electric guitar chord progression and a heavy tale of old rain that suggests Mills is about to wander into something epic, and it ain’t LOLs.”

Petty and Dylan comparisons aside, Mills’ music puts a fresh twist on a classic retro sound, with songs ranging from piano ballad “Coming up for Air” to Americana-tinged “How Much More Can I Sing?” A lot of today’s Philly bands draw on similar styles and influences, but A.M. Mills’ songs sound like they could have been made at any time, in any place. This air of timelessness makes for a listening experience you won’t find too often — so when an EP like this drops, it’s worth taking some time to soak it in.

Stream Window Box in full via Bandcamp below. Mills doesn’t have any upcoming shows scheduled, but he’s known to play a hometown gig every now and then, so keep an eye out.