Album Review: Milked – Death On Mars

Exploding In Sound Records are set to release Milked‘s debut album, Death On Mars, on the 30th June, the album is the second instalment in the label’s ongoing EIS Tape Club. Milked were formed by former Geronimo! guitarist and vocalist Kelly Johnson following their split back in 2015, not one to take time out he immediately began creating solo music under the moniker of Milked, now with their debut album’s release imminent Milked can fulfil their promise to expand on Geronimo!‘s fuzzy post punk and post hardcore legacy, and with the release of Death On Mars they have exceeded their expectations as this is nothing short of a stunning debut full length.

White Punks offers an opening fuzzy grungey riff and insistent beat, this brief burst of fuzzy energy is a promising start and any fears that the rest of the album wouldn’t live up to it are instantly dispelled by the distorted tones of Caledonia, and by the time Oscillate bursts into life I am well and truly hooked on Milked‘s mix of fuzzy grunge, punk, garage and alternative influences. The album’s title track brings a sludgier influence to the album before Goodbye Durango kicks things back into gear with it’s infectious guitar hook and we get further three further full tilt hedonistic blasts before the album bows out with the darker closing number, Enouement.

Almost every track on Death On Mars will be a fixture on my playlist from now on, this is a distorted fuzz drenched album that means that Milked haven’t so much carried on the legacy left by Geronimo! as left it in their wake. Death On Mars is a near perfect nine tracks and is the finest instalment in the EIS Tape Club to date, it’s clear that this series is going to be an eclectic series showcasing the fuzzy underbelly of the alternative scene, now personally I don’t understand the revival in the cassette format as I remember losing many albums to my tape deck’s love of chewing up C90’s, and for those of you that also feel this way the album is available as an individual download. 

You can pre-order Death On Mars and/or subscribe to the EIS Tape Club here

Milked‘s Bandcamp can be found here and their Facebook page is here