Originally from Southend, The Milk have been causing a stir among London’s music industry afficionados. It’s not hard to see why their Northern Soul via Motown sound has such appeal. With retromania being all the rage, looking back has already proven successful for the likes of Imelda May, Plan B, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, and Rumer. So what do we have here then? A four-piece with an affinity for fast beats, horns, and catchy hooks.
Frontman, Ricky Nunn, has a voice built for funky-soul. The essence of Finley Quaye‘s distinctive pitch mixes with a little of James Brown‘s brash attitude. Their new single B-Roads (below), which came out on 19th December, exhibits a slight hip-hop influence – Fun Lovin Criminals‘ Scooby Snacks comes to mind in particular. Ex scooby snacker, Huey Morgan, is one a long list of influential fans too.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2_NIreNLNE&ob=av2n
Elsewhere things are more ’60s orientated, with Stax and Trojan being reference points. Earlier single (All I Wanted Was) Danger melds these influences with modern pop sensibilites in a formula which is sure to catch the attention of commercial radio. Our favourite though, is a demo version of reggae hit 54-46 by Toots & The Maytals (below) – the signature bounce this time coming from horns and backed by crisp live drums.
The Milk will be playing Deaf Institute on March 22nd, but have an array of northern dates, including Leeds, Liverpool, and Preston.
Words: Simon Butcher
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Od_a57RoWY
Full Dates
March 1 Canterbury The Farmhouse
March 2 Brighton Green Door Store
March 4 Bournemouth 60 Million Postcards
March 5 Southampton Joiners
March 7 Oxford Jericho
March 8 Bristol Start The Bus
March 9 Bath Moles
March 10 Gloucester Guildhall
March 12 Cardiff The Globe
March 13 Doncaster Leopard
March 14 York Stereo
March 16 Leeds Nation of Shopkeepers
March 17 Stoke Sugarmill
March 18 Birmingham The Rainbow
March 19 Sheffield The Plug
March 21 Nottingham Bodega
March 22 Manchester Deaf Institute
March 23 Liverpool Shipping Forecast
March 24 Preston 53 Degrees
March 26 Middlesbrough Westgarth Social Club
March 28 Edinburgh Electric Circus
March 29 Glasgow King Tuts
March 30 Aberdeen Tunnels
March 31 Dundee Doghouse
April 2 Newcastle Cosmic Ballroom
April 3 Norwich Open
April 4 London Scala
April 5 Southend Chinnerys
