Established in 2011, eclectic heavy rock band Milk White Throat released their epnoymous EP that year, followed by the self produced debut album Death of Beauty in 2014 written, recorded and produced by the band themselves.
Originally a six piece, including saxophone and live synth/electro beats, changes to members in 2012 led the band to advance as a streamlined four piece.
With a passion for progressive and classic rock, the result of all this is a unique and broadly influenced sound, underpinned by a deep appreciation for genre defining artists an musicianship.
Milk White Throat strive to create exciting, original music that is succinct and crucially relevant in the live arena.
Their latest EP House of Fire will be released 3rd August. The summer will see them playing a range of headline shows, soon to be announced. Lead single Nearly Alive is due to come out soon however for now check Under Duress.
We managed to catch up with guitarist/vocalist Tom as he talked about their upcoming EP and more!
So how pumped are you for the release of House of Fire?
We’re really pumped indeed! We’ve kinda been sitting on the tracks for a little while now and have played them in some live shows, getting good responses, so we’re really keen to get them out and see how people like the recordings. We think it’s the best thing we’ve recorded in all our years together and we’ll be proud when people can finally hear it.
Can you tell something about the EP no one else knows?
Hmm, I’m not sure if there’s anything that ‘no one’ would know… but it was recorded on a farm in Hampshire.
What’s your favourite track from the upcoming EP?
I think we might have different opinions on that depending on who you ask! But for me ‘Nearly Alive’ as it’s the most fun to play and we’re putting it out as the first single shortly, since we think it will grab people’s attention the most.
How has Nearly Alive gone down so far?
We’re about to put it out as a single soon, but it’s still not actually out at the time of writing. However, that’s usually the one people have commented on after seeing us live, so I’d like to think that anyone who likes us is going to appreciate that one.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
Interesting question. Again I’m pretty sure each band member would answer this differently! I’m gonna go with Oranssi Pazuzu who are one of my top bands these days (recently saw them at The Dome in London on their European tour). They’re a psychedelic black metal band from Finland and I love their use of effects and instrumentation. The dynamics of their live show was really impressive as at times it sounds like there are more than 5 people in that band. Since becoming a 3 piece, the variety of sounds they have is something I envy and would love to have more of in our music.
What’s the alternative scene like in Brighton at the moment?
Over the years I feel like we’ve become a bit detached from the ‘scene’ in Brighton. We’ve been together a long time and many bands, venues and promoters have come and gone in that time. We also took a couple of years kinda out of it while we dealt with things happening in our personal lives and also the latest lineup change, so things changed a fair bit in that time. We’ve found it a bit tougher to get back into the scene, though hopefully the new EP will remind a few folks that we’re still around. There are certainly a good amount of local bands, and regular events like Mammothfest and Bad Pond Festival are a good example of that.
Brighton still gets a fair amount of decent underground and alternative bands coming to visit on tour, so we’re really keen to be one of the bands called upon for local support in these cases. We did manage that recently by supporting Rosetta for the Brighton date on their European tour.
Do you have shows coming up this summer? Which are you looking forward to the most?
We are working on getting more dates in at the moment (any promoters reading this – hit us up!), but we’re really looking forward to our show at the Green Door Store on 8th August as that will be the first one after the EP release, so it’ll be good to gauge the reception of the new songs!
What was the first ever gig you went to?
My first was Papa Roach back when they released their first album. I was about 13 years old at the time and I went up to Brixton Academy with a bunch of friends, back when we were in our nu-metal phase, it was a simpler time!