Review: The Milk @ Clwb
Swn Presents The Milk + Chris Summerill
Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
12th March 2012
With the distinct possibility of act and audience suffering from post-weekend weariness, Monday night gigs can really drag. Yet with their irresistibly catchy choruses, contagious smiles and Peter Whittingham look-a-like drummer, Essex five-piece The Milk delivered a Friday night atmosphere and proved themselves as one of 2012’s finest new bands.
Support came from Cardiff-based Chris Summerill and band, whose 60s sound blew away the cobwebs with soulful vocals and slick guitar riffs. They would have benefited from a larger audience yet they played as if the room was full and were a highly suitable prelude to the main act. The high energy performance was received well and they were impressive as a live band, but their lack of any truly memorable tunes will need to be overcome if they are to concrete any major following.
Then came The Milk. Heavily influenced by ska, soul and rhythm ’n’ blues, the band got a half-full Clwb grooving within moments of stepping on stage, and their sound was definitely full-fat. Stand out songs from the night, singles B-Roads, Broke Up The Family and (All I Wanted Was) Danger were lapped up with cheers and whoops and they are sure to send the band into Radio 1 territory soon enough. Not stopping for applause between songs, their fast paced set included other gems, such as Mr Motivator and Chip The Kids, which would sound great on a hopefully forthcoming album and even better on the festival circuit. The presence of five or six such strong songs on a debut UK tour is reassuring when questioning the longevity of The Milk who, like many other acts in this vintage side of the industry, can quite quickly turn sour.
Dressed ready to go to the pub and stopping to talk to audience members in turn, any whiff of success hasn’t got to their heads. Still fresh and ready to be hone their sound further, The Milk could really shake things up this year and they’ll be attracting a much larger crowd next time they hit Cardiff.
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