Valorie Miller shares "Apocalachia," a haunting tune about a chemical dump

North Carolina's Valorie Miller wrote "Apocalachia" after learning her Swannanoa home sat adjacent to a hazardous waste site.

Here's the scoop... 

The songs on Valorie Miller's upcoming album, Only The Killer Would Know, emerged after the North Carolina songwriter discovered that her acre of land in Swannanoa sat adjacent to, if not in the middle of, a hazardous waste area overseen by the government. Miller experienced health issues that led her to eventually leave the property. Only later, by talking to her former neighbors and doing her own research, did she discover it was a “superfund” site, so named because of the massive cost necessary to clean up the mess left by irresponsible corporations. Watch the video for Valorie's song "Apocalachia" below. Her album Only The Killer Would Know will be out May 6 via Blackbird Record Label/ Indie AM Gold.  

“‘Apocalachia’ is not only a song on the record, it’s also an imaginary realm I inhabit when wrestling with life’s larger conundrums," she explains. "When I realized that my beloved Appalachian home was contaminated with chemicals manufactured for warfare, it seemed natural to merge the word ‘apocalypse’ with ‘Appalachia.’ While the subject seems dark to many, I’m simply writing what happens to me and exhibiting willingness to speak of subjects that most would rather avoid. No, it’s not ‘upbeat,’ but it’s real and it contains a message of hope: the earth will heal herself from wounds inflicted by humans. A whole new garden will grow, y’all!” 

Over the album’s nine songs, Miller’s spare arrangements, haunting, ethereal vocals (think Mazzy Star) and riveting eco-narratives are a genre unto themselves and tell a story that in some ways is all too familiar, yet entirely original. Unraveling the true story of her beloved acre of land – and the toxicity that lay below — is what led to the album’s title. 

“You hear that term in detective shows, when somebody has insider information,” she says. “With Only The Killer Would Know, the ‘killer’ refers to the people who dump that stuff in the ground. And by researching all of that, I'm the detective,” she says. “To help find the killer, or the person responsible, the investigator has to know certain details that no one else could possibly know. In this case, the information is readily available, but nobody's looking except for me. I know all of this weird stuff about that place. Meanwhile, in this entire community, practically nobody is even aware that that place is there.”

Watch the video for Valorie Miller's "Apocalachia" below. You can pre-order her forthcoming album Only The Killer Would Know right here.