2013/03/23

Half Milk - Down Endings



01. Cooper Cannon
02. By The Sea 6 (Like A G6)
03. Our Chart
04. Skye Brynjelsen's Big Break

This record is wild. There's no better sentence to start this review than that. Half Milk will use quieter, slower passages to lull you into a sense of security, and then a fast, technical mathy riff will pop out of nowhere. This band seems to do what so many other bands of the Cap'N Jazz worshipping emo revival have been trying to: be insanely technical, but still make the riffs catchy. And that's not all. When these guys dig in, they really dig in. The middle of 'Our Chart' is a screamed, chaotic mess, and when the vocals end the instruments all careen back to center and vamp on a scorching riff, and then all of that gives way to a light drum roll and some plucked acoustic guitar. I know for a while it seemed like there were a lot of bands attempting to do this style (and there probably still are), but few have immediately impressed me with their melding of virtuosity and just plain listenability as much as Half Milk did on first listen. If you love any combination of noodles and math, chances are you'll really like this record.

Reviewed by Justin.

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