Despite signing to a Warner Music Group imprint, Milk Teeth are still grinding away like true punk rockers. Between near constant touring, the Gloucester four-piece have also managed to release two EP’s in 2017.
The previous one, Be Nice, was released just 3 months ago. It stands as an absolute triumph, proving to any doubters that their unique charm had not been swallowed by the major label machine.
Given the winter release date, and the cold title, it’s a given that Go Away is a mirror image of Be Nice. While the prior focused on Milk Teeth’s alternative-rock chops, Go Away aims for the jugular with a more straightforward approach. ‘I Stabbed You First’ sets the pace for the EP, with its grunge-meets-skate-punk sound, and anguished lyrics.
A squeal of distortion then brings us into ‘Lillian’, a song that deals with similar themes to the beautiful ballad ‘Hibernate’ from Be Nice. However, ‘Hibernate’ choses to ruminate, while ‘Lilian’ deals with singer Becky Blomfield’s doubts in a much punchier fashion. Whereas the refrain in ‘Hibernate’ is a plaintive “don’t let me fuck it up”, ‘Lillian’ bulldozes this with “I’m riding on a wave of self-belief/because when everything is done it’s all on me.”.
Blomfield’s ability to write painfully honest and honestly relatable lyrics shines through on the following track, ‘Nearby Catfight’. Like a 21st Century ‘Longview’, it acts as a slacker’s anthem, with odes to not brushing your teeth, avoiding soap, and finding pink sick in your hair.
Ever the M. Night Shyamalans of British punk music, it wouldn’t be a Milk Teeth record if they didn’t throw a twist in at some point. The closing track, ‘Big Sky’, is the most atmospheric song that the band has ever written. With its soaring guitars and bass heavy riffing, it’s easy to imagine Soundgarden in their prime would be jealous.
Apart from ‘Big Sky’, Go Away is perhaps the most straight-forward release of Milk Teeth’s four years as a band. The musical approach lands somewhere between early 2000s emo-pop, and early 90s pop-punk, albeit with some of the grit from their early releases being retained through blasts of distortion and a heavy, chunky bass tone. It’s a fun EP, with most of the songs sounding like they would absolutely storm live, but the band remain at their best when they’re throwing all their influences into the pot to create their usually unpredictable sound.
WORDS: SEAN LEWIS
