Label: Music For Nations
Released: 5th August 2022
With a wave of pop-punk nostalgia sweeping the scene, it might be easy to lose sight of the newest generation of talent amidst various comebacks and Travis Barker collabs.
Fresh from bringing some oomph to Pale Waves’ recent UK tour, Manchester’s Hot Milk are by now experts in their craft, taking their cues from their early 2000s heroes and dragging them into the future on latest EP ‘The King and Queen of Gasoline’. Alongside their now trademark pop-rockers, there’s room for some fresh tricks. ‘The Secret to Saying Goodbye’ nestles a crooning saxophone solo in its breakdown before exploding back into chugging power chords and programmed synths.
On ‘I Fell in Love with Someone I Shouldn’t…’ Han Mee and Jim Shaw pass responsibility for lead vocals back and forth as easily as blink-182 in their prime, and on ‘Bad Influence’ the quartet play with more industrial riffs before emerging into a sugar-coated chorus about kicking back against the haters and living your own truth. Therein lies the band’s strength, wearing their obvious influences on their sleeves while maintaining an authenticity and forging their own path. ■ Dillon Eastoe
