A Black Mile to the Surface

A Black Mile to the Surface
Studio album by Manchester Orchestra
Released	July 21, 2017 (2017-07-21)
Studio	Echo Mountain Recording Elmwood West Favorite Gentlemen The Village[1]
Genre	Indie rock alternative rock Americana
Length	49:07
Label	Favorite Gentlemen Loma Vista
Producer	Catherine Marks
Manchester Orchestra chronology
Hope (2014) A Black Mile to the Surface (2017) The Million Masks of God (2021)
Singles from A Black Mile to the Surface
"The Gold" Released: June 9, 2017 "The Alien" Released: June 22, 2017 "The Moth" Released: July 10, 2017

A Black Mile to the Surface is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. It was released on July 21, 2017, through Loma Vista Recordings and Favorite Gentlemen. Recording for the album took place from the summer of 2016 onwards with producer Catherine Marks. The lead single, "The Gold", was released on June 9, 2017, alongside a music video directed by Mike Dempsey and Johnny Chew. Two more singles, "The Alien" and "The Moth", were released later in the summer.

Inspired by their work on the soundtrack for the 2016 film Swiss Army Man, band members Andy Hull and Robert McDowell set out to create an album that was a reset from the band's previous studio albums Cope and Hope (both 2014). A Black Mile to the Surface is an alternative rock and Americana record, interweaving a concept album set in a South Dakota mining town with reflections on Hull's young daughter. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised Hull's storytelling and the album's cinematic stylings. Commercially, it performed well, debuting at number 33 on the US Billboard 200.