Hot Milk - I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I'M DEAD EP review

Hot Milk, a band that up until researching for this review I thought was a duo, has released their new EP I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I’M DEAD. In actuality they are a “four-piece power pop movement” from northern England that’s just dual-fronted and leaves a lot of PR focus on their vocalists. Spotlights aside they have been turning a lot of heads getting internet success and playing festival dates without even an album to their name. It is normally my style to talk about the singles first then dive into the deep cuts but I feel that isn’t necessary here as all five of these tracks are crafted in such a way that they could have all been released and stood by themselves with maybe an exception to “Woozy.”

The title track (I’m not gonna make you read that a third time) is a minimalist nu metal cut dressed in an intro and chorus sequence that is heavily emo inspired, The Used comes to mind every time I turn this on. What I mean by “minimalist” is just that these verses very much sound like they’re almost nu metal but intentionally holding back. The second verse even has some tinges of symphonic metal. Not that I’m trying to throw a thousand theories on what this is at the wall but a recurring theme on this whole EP is that you start at any random point and hear something totally different than the part before it but in context it all sort of makes sense. I also want to compliment the lyrics on this one as they look introspectively at what death means and are as deep as we get;

“I just wanna know what happens when I’m dead, living in an epidemic in my head, are my skin and bones just a rental home?”

“Woozy” is a decent back and forth duet that has more of an emo pop production than a focus on a full band in the first half then a sudden but not surprising switch up that takes the song to a more lively place at almost the exact halfway mark. I feel bad that there isn’t much I can say for this one but there just isn’t much to comment on. It is the least formulaic of the tracks though and has a lot of noteworthy vocal performances; see that “never thought I’d be a masochist” line.

“The Good Life” is an instrumental highlight for me personally. I’m loving the heavy bass, the guitar lick that carries the entire second verse but is present nowhere else. Lyrically there’s some pretty entry level “capitalism kills” messaging but there’s a stand out line here and there such as;

“Sell yourself for currency to own shares of this make believe ecstasy”

“I Think I Hate Myself” has a lot going for it with it’s string sections, huge last leg with an interlude that goes into a triumphant guitar solo. The second verse here is almost a groove reimagining of the first that really keeps it interesting. The vocal melody sounds like a musical at times and it really keeps you in. There is one instance where the word “weirdo” is delivered in an almost uncomfortable way but I suppose with the sentiment that’s the point. I do, despite all this praise, have to come down hard on the lyricism of this song. With lines like;

“Waking, baking but telling my mom I’m fine.”

“I think I hate myself, nobody else and all my day dreams turn into Hell.”

And the outro chant of “I hate myself” this song sounds like a high schooler’s idea of a sad song set to a Sasuke AMV on YouTube. I think it's the sort of song that is cool when it comes out but maybe in a few years we all look back on and laugh.

The EP ends with “Split Personality” a song that sort of sounds in the vein of some of the stuff Bring Me the Horizon has been doing in recent years. That’s not to say it doesn’t have a life of its own; there is a vocal-instrumental back and forth that I think no other band would have done in this way right in the first verse. Other than that there isn’t a lot done that hasn’t been done in earlier tracks though there are some highlight vocal and bass performances. Something I do want to point out though is that this makes the project feel sort of anti climactic. This doesn’t have a grand finish, in fact it barely has a finish, so it sort of leaves me with some unresolved feelings.

All in all I enjoyed this EP but it feels more like a collection of pop singles than it does a coherent project. They’re good singles too! However I think if the intent is to turn heads and garner attention this works out well. These are the kind of songs that would fit snugly on a festival setlist and maybe could have just been released single after single but I do see what’s to gain in putting them all together.