Milk Music are bringing guitar heroics back to indie rock. They released their debut album, Cruise Your Illusion (yes, that is a tongue-in-cheek GnR reference), last month on Fat Possum. In an indie climate increasingly dominated by clean-cut 20-something Brooklynites churning out pleasant yet safe folk and pop tunes, this Olympia, WA quartet brings visceral and life-affirming slacker-rock back into the limelight. Milk Music successfully appropriate the tone and aesthetics of 80s and 90s indie rock bands like Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, Archers of Loaf, and Built to Spill, while offering an original spin on a time-tested formula.
In fact, Dino Jr. frontman J. Mascis seems to serve as a heavy inspiration for both the soaring, distorted licks of guitarist Charles Warring and the carefree, off-key vocals of Alex Coxen. The lyrical themes of hope and new beginnings run throughout the record. “Don’t fuck with me man, I’m illegal and free,” he belts out on album highlight “Illegal and Free”. The track titles give away the general sentiment of the album: Caged Dogs Run Wild, New Lease On Love, and I’ve Got A Wild Feeling all communicate themes of reckless abandon, lack of inhibition, and a general sense of freedom.
But above all, Cruise Your Illusion is just melodic as hell. Think infinite expanses of open road, or backyard barbecues on summer afternoons in suburbia. And it’s not only the lovely melodics of the dual-guitar assault that evoke these scenes; it’s also the ringing and penetrating tone. The guitar tone is almost uncanny in its ability to convey triumph, regret, lament, celebration, or any number of emotions, and works perfectly in concert with Coxen’s wild wail. This is music designed to be played loud and almost begs you to air-guitar, no matter how ridiculous you might look.
While bands like Cymbals Eat Guitars and Yuck have been criticized for their unabashed worship and imitation of 90s indie rock, Milk Music make up for wearing their influences on their sleeves by producing a sense of urgency and purpose in their songwriting. No guitar lick feels out of place, drummer Joe Rutter always keeps the momentum going forward, and no melodic thought outstays its welcome. True guitar heroes have been rare since the dawn of indie rock in the early 80s: Tom Verlaine, Thurston Moore, J. Mascis, Doug Martsch, and Black Francis are among the few who deserve the title. For now, Alex Coxane and Milk Music can carry that torch.
Highlights: Illegal And Free, New Lease On Love, Coyote Road, Lacey’s Secret
Album Rating: 8.5/10
- Julian Sena, host of Critical Listening, a show covering the newest and best music of 2013, Mondays from 6-7 PM
