“Clear, Honest, & Deliberate”: Dublin’s milk. Dwell in Identity Crises on Enthralling ‘3, the EP.’

Irish indie pop band milk. unpack the cinematic sounds and visceral, vulnerable emotions at the heart of  ‘3, the EP.,’ their most ambitious, enthralling, and thought-provoking record to date!

Stream: ‘3, the EP.’ – milk.

A lot of the EP is about asking yourself near unanswerable questions of, ‘who am I? what’s my purpose?’ To me a lot of ‘living life’ is about feeling these things, and this EP granted me the life I felt COVID had taken.

“Forgot the meaning of humanity – I got it back on a FaceTime call,” Mark McKenna sings, fully charged and hot on the mic at the start of milk.’s third EP. His voice is urgent, conveying the strain of an invisible ache that’s come to feel all too commonplace; it’s a feeling we all know only too well. “It’s something brittle like vanity,” he continues. “Look at all of us together being self involved. There’s a virtual world and we’re living in it.“

So begins 3, the EP., milk.’s most ambitious and enthralling record to date: A cinematic set of shiver-inducing indie pop songs dwelling in the deep end of the emotional pool, the Irish band’s latest effort is a spellbinding fever dream leaning into life’s big questions – reckoning with identity, existence, self-actualization and survival in a disconnect world. Delivered through milk.’s charismatic and increasingly recognizable indie rock veneer, 3, the EP. hits hard and leaves an instant, lasting mark.

I think I need a new lifestyle
new name, advertise myself.
So I can see my own profile
and be glad that I don’t recognise myself.

It’s all hot takes. DM’s. Unpopular opinions.
Politics. 666. Only fans. Blue ticks. Bad news.
Worlds end. But here’s some more opinions.
Sensor that. Show it off.
Everyone’s a know it all.

– “It’s The Internet’s World We’re Just Living In It,” milk.

Independently released December 1, 2023, 3, The EP. is an enthralling, enchanting affair. The follow-up to 2021’s 2, The EP. is an evolutionary leap forward for the four-piece of Mark McKenna (vocals), Conor Gorman (lead guitar), Morgan Wilson (drums), and Conor King (bass), who have dazzled our ears and captured our hearts every step of the way since debuting in 2019.

Already an Atwood Magazine artist-to-watch and Editor’s Pick, milk. self-produced their third EP in order to hone in on the sound they knew they could have.

“For this record, there was a real effort to write and record as a group and make sure that we were all intrinsically involved in every part of these tunes,” drummer Morgan Wilson tells Atwood Magazine. “We wanted all of the songs to have a clear, live energy and clear narratives that listeners can relate to. I believe we continue to hone our craft as players and writers, and also as members of this group. I hope the EP captures both our continued work as musicians and our energy as true close mates.”

“This EP feels a lot more true to us,” vocalist Mark McKenna adds in agreement. “We felt more like a band when writing for it and wanted it to feel that way on the record. I don’t expect the sound of this EP to be our sound forever, it might even change by the time the next record is out – but this definitely feels like our most mature body of work to me.”

The result of the band collectively owning that piece of the creative process is undeniable: 3, the EP. is a vibrant and strikingly cohesive seven-track set that, while perfect for fans of The 1975, The xx, The Japanese House, and Holly Humberstone, stands out on its own merits as well. milk. are carving themselves a healthy niche within the indie music realm – and if they stand out sonically, they make an even bigger impact through their songwriting.

Written during peak lockdown COVID, 3, the EP.‘s songs plunge happily and fearlessly into life’s unknowables.

“When the world had as much time as we did to be by ourselves during COVID, it gave us a lot of time to get to know ourselves better and question who we thought we were,” McKenna shares.

“It was strange trying to write lyrics that I felt like I cared about at that time, because you write about life, but no one had any life to live. A lot of the EP is about asking yourself near unanswerable questions of, who am I? what’s my purpose? who are others to you? who you are to them? We’re all growing and developing all the time, so these answers will constantly change. Any conclusion you come to can’t help but feel short-term. It sounds very depressing and cyclical, and maybe it is, but to me a lot of ‘living life’ is about feeling these things, and this EP granted me the life I felt COVID had taken.”

From craving “Human Contact” and navigating identity crises (“I Think I Lost My Number Can I Have Yours?”) to exploring how our identities change depending on our environment (as one might feel in a big city like “London”), and the ways in which we exist in the virtual world (“It’s The Internets World We’re Just Living In It”), milk. leave few stones unturned as they expose their innermost selves, challenging our preconceived notions of life, presence, and being, all in the hopes of finding something of substance in the ephemeral, disconnected world of the 2020s.

Atwood Magazine caught up with milk.’s Mark McKenna and Morgan Wilson to delve into the depths of 3, the EP. and unpack the sounds, emotions, ideas at the heart of their ambitious and enthralling new record!

Another day sat in front of a screen.
Here I sit, watching it, watching me.
Here’s a thought why don’t you get up and leave?
If I could then I would, believe me.

Should have known I was doomed from the start.
Have my card number leant off by heart.
Haven’t shaved in a week it’s the pits.
But there’s nothing spending my money won’t fix.

Human contact.
It’s just me and my shadow in the room.
Human contact.
Yeah and I wish that I could get it from you.

– “Human Contact.,” milk.

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:: stream/purchase 3, the EP. here ::

A CONVERSATION WITH MILK.

Mark McKenna: The process of writing this EP was all through peak lockdown COVID. I had always wanted to learn production and felt like if there was ever a time to do it, that would be it. I would record and try make demos of any ideas we had. Anything that felt promising enough to be an actual song would be the ones that we gave time to and wanted to fully produce out ourselves. It felt important to us that we would fully self-produce this EP so we could have a full body of work we could stand behind that was completely our own from start to finish.

A lot of the lyrical themes of this EP revolve around identity. When the world had as much time as we did to be by ourselves during COVID, it gave us a lot of time to get to know ourselves better and question who we thought we were.

Mark: Going into this record we wanted it to feel more like we had a “sound” or like we were setting the groundwork for what our “sound” will be and for it to feel more like a band. We knew we wanted to self produce it for that reason. I think the only thing that changed over the course of making it was the process of figuring out that sound. Basically every song on the EP except “Internets World” (which was the last song written for the EP) feels so old to us now because they’re all old demos from COVID that got redone and reshaped to fit what we wanted as we figured out what sound felt right. But the vision of self-producing and focusing on a sound that felt consistent across the whole EP was there from the start.

Morgan Wilson: For this record, there was a real effort to write and record as a group and make sure that we were all intrinsically involved in every part of these tunes. We wanted all of the songs to have a clear, live energy and clear narratives that listeners can relate to.

Mark: This EP feels a lot more true to us. We felt more like a band when writing for it and wanted it to feel that way on the record. Our taste is always changing and developing, which will influence what we make. I don’t expect the sound of this EP to be our sound forever, it might even change by the time the next record is out. But this definitely feels like our most mature body of work to me.

Morgan: I believe we continue to hone our craft as players and writers, and also as members of this group. I hope the EP captures both our continued work as musicians and our energy as true close mates.

The first two EPs show gradual and careful developments in our sound and have become very much the sonic representation of our figuring ourselves out as players and as people. This EP is, to me, more distinctly ourselves and more concisely put together than anything that came before it.

Mark: The themes of identity are most prominent for sure. The EP was written during COVID and it gave me a lot of time to reflect. It was strange trying to write lyrics that I felt like I cared about at that time, because you write about life, but no one had any life to live. A lot of the EP is about asking yourself near unanswerable questions of, who am I? what’s my purpose? who are others to you? who you are to them? We’re all growing and developing all the time so these answers will constantly change. Any conclusion you come to can’t help but feel short-term. It sounds very depressing and cyclical. And maybe it is. But to me a lot of ‘living life’ is about feeling these things, and this EP granted me the life I felt COVID had taken.

Mark: The idea of opening the EP with Internets World came from us wanting to sound more “like a band” on this record. The song is quite abrasive and fast passed in its nature but still has the classic 2 guitars, bass and drums set up which made it feel like a good statement piece to start off the EP with.

Mark: Ending the EP with “Emotionally Abusive” just felt right. A lot of these songs were written as a singer-songwriter format then developed to sound like a band. This song felt like it needed to stay in the singer-songwriter world. Having the EP open with this fast passed short and sweet song, and end with a slower, longer track just made it feel more like a journey to listen to start to finish.

She said I have no empathy and maybe she was right.
But I think I’ll forgive myself cause that’s a load of shite.
She said she gets nothing from me cause I don’t give it right.
Well if that feels shit, darling I empathise.

I come round to your house late and it’s something I regret.
Cause it feels like I came here just to watch you get upset.
We kiss, makeup, fuck, cry and laugh and pretend we forget.
But we’ll always feel all of the things we said.

And I’ll blame my youth.
Don’t know if I said the wrong thing or spoke the wrong truth.
It’s just a game of roulette.
Don’t take back what I said.
We’re emotionally abusive we’re just too young to know it yet.

Mark: If I had to pick one line from the whole EP it would probably be, “She said I have no empathy and maybe she was right but I think I’ll forgive myself cause that’s a load of shite.”

Morgan: I’m especially happy with “I said the punchline louder, that joke’s not yours anymore” from ‘I Think I Lost My Number, Can I Have Yours.’ Honourable mention for the especially Irish “ that’s a load of sh*te” that features in “Emotionally Abusive.” I’d like to think we’re the first to put that tender turn of phrase in a sad song.

I’m too scared of changing.
So I’m thinking about rearranging.
I don’t mind how you perceive me.
But the truth is.
I wouldn’t believe me.

Can someone with an opinion give it to me.
And dictate what I say.
I’m made up, I’m pastiche.
I said the punchline louder.
That jokes not yours anymore.
I think I’m after losing my number can I have yours?

I’m not sure what I believe about myself anymore.
I think I’m after losing my number can I have yours?

– “I Think I Lost My Number Can I Have Yours?” milk.

Mark: It would be a tie between “Emotionally Abusive” and “I Think I Lost My Number Can I Have Yours?” for me

Morgan: I really enjoy the warm synth sounds and the drum feel in ‘I Might Bore You.’ It’s a lot of fun to play live and has been a front runner for me for ages. The dynamics and the rise and fall of ‘Emotionally Abusive’ is definitely up there too.

Mark: I have no specific hope for what anyone gets from it. I just hope they get something meaningful out of it at all, however they interpret it. When writing it I was asking myself all these questions and hoping I’d have all the answers in the end. But I didn’t, and it truth I may never get the answers. If anything what I got from this EP was learning that it’s okay to not know these things but to always question them regardless. The world feels very performative now. The internet has transformed into a stage and the line of what is and isn’t real has become blurred whether it’s about yourself or someone else. I hope whatever people get out of this EP has truth in it.

 © milk.