Hot Milk’s full-length debut from 2023 was my co-album of the year alongside the debut by James and the Cold Gun. Before their debut, they had released several EPs which showcased a band developing sharper edges. Their debut album ‘A Call to the Void’ showcased their diversity and felt more like an album that was looking inward than this new one, where they turn their rage towards the current state of the world. What hasn’t changed is the band crafting songs with huge hooks that should appeal to a wide variety of music fans.
‘(How Do I) Make the Devil Fall Asleep’ kicks off the album with a beat that should get the live crowd’s fists in the air before Han’s vocals take control for the first verse over minimal instrumentation. Jim’s vocals then enter, and the intensity continues to grow until they reach a modern rock style chorus. Part of Hot Milk’s trademark has been the gift of having Han and Jim on vocals. They each have their own strengths individually and are easily identifiable from other vocalists, but the other magic is the way they blend together. The intensity continues with the rapid-fire intro of single ‘Insubordinate Ingerland’ where the band delivers killer hooks, a well-placed spoken word bit, and some intense vocals from Jim at the end. I anticipate this will be a live staple. Another single, ‘The American Machine’ follows and has become one of my favourite songs from the album. A modern sounding punk approach that tears into American policies regarding healthcare and the military. The shouty vocals of the chorus give way to a break in the song where the assault is given a reprieve before returning to a rage by the end of the song.
While there is no let-up, the band channels a different means for the assault with ‘Hell Is on Its Way.’ A dance beat and electronic effects provide the skeleton of the verses, with the song reaching some rhythmical fury over its two-minute running time. It takes some of the early poppiness of the band and sends it through a metal blender to make it sharper and angrier. Another of the early singles follows, with ‘Swallow This’ being another modern-sounding rock song where there is more musical space in the verses to allow the vocals to be showcased. The chorus has more bite than some of their other songs. Han provides a spoken word bridge here that transitions the song into even more intensity before the chorus closes it.
A brief reprieve is provided through ‘Machine Elves (Interlude)’ that again showcases the early pop side of the band. I appreciate how they have kept that in their DNA and cleverly mixed it into their current music. This segues directly into the pounding start of ‘Chase the Dragon.’ The pre-chorus provides a solid hook and transitions into an even catchier chorus. It’s simply an outstanding song that deserves to be heard. The first single from the album ’90 Seconds to Midnight’ storms out of the gate and provides a great introduction to the album with a sonic assault akin to a straight-ahead Wildhearts’ rocker. The siren-style backing vocal in the chorus is an excellent touch, and Jim’s screams are on point.
The uniquely titled ‘Sunburn From Your Bible’ comes out of the speaker with a beat that feels a bit like Rage Against the Machine. I can see the waves of people bouncing up and down in the live setting. The song comes from a similar musical pool as their earlier song ‘Split Personality.’ Changing approach, ‘Warehouse Salvation’ channels back into their ability to deliver some killer pop songs with a song that could be seamlessly entered into a dance club’s rotation. I am interested to see how this one sounds live as the band has demonstrated an ability to make these songs more intense in the live setting. While not something in my usual mix of musical styles, this one has become one of my favourites with repeated listens. Hot Milk are masters of delivering a mix of styles while losing none of their authenticity or identity.
‘Sediments (Interlude)’ provides an electronic style break that sets up what I assume will be a future single in ‘Asphyxiate.’ This is as close as they get to revisiting something in the same musical approach to ‘Breathing Underwater’ from their debut. This song is made to be blasting out on pop and rock radio stations. The chorus is extremely catchy and one listeners will be singing in no time. Even though this is only their second album, their catalogue of songs is already extremely deep, and this album has provided an album’s worth of songs that deserve to be in their setlist. ’Payment of Pain’ suffered from following ‘Asphyxiate’ on initial listens, but has connected with me on multiple listens. The electronic elements in the mix give the song added depth, and the build in the back half of the song takes the song to another level. The distant backing vocals remind me of ‘I Was Made for Loving You’ by KISS. Closing out the album, ‘Sympathy Symphony’ is the most recent single released. Keyboards and an electronic beat usher in this slow builder. The transition from the chorus to strings provides a great connection between the first half and the second half with the album closing on a pretty epic note.
Hot Milk has delivered another album of the year contender for me, in a year with several very strong contenders. This album didn’t connect with me as immediately as their debut did, but it is stronger with every listen. ‘Corporation P.O.P.’ has more depth than the debut on a musical and lyrical level. Hot Milk has continued to evolve while retaining the essence of who they are. They should continue to see their audience multiply during this album cycle. If you spend a little extra for the Japanese version of the CD, you will also get non-album blinder ‘Where Does the Light Get In?’ and two live tracks.
‘Corporation P.O.P.’ is now available.
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Author: Gerald Stansbury
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