EP REVIEW: I Just Wanna Know What Happens When I’m Dead – Hot Milk

There aren’t many bands that can boast of huge support slots to the likes of FOO FIGHTERS while having released next to no material; in fact, perhaps the only band that can lay claim to that are Manchester’s HOT MILK. The fast-rising power pop band have no interest in taking their time, clearly, and want to spread their message of positivity, inclusion and good vibes as far as they possibly can. They’ve already stormed the Download Pilot earlier this year and played a raucous set at the Heavy Music Awards and have just released their second EP, I Just Wanna Know What Happens When I’m Dead. 

The title track opens the EP with a rumbling bassline before erupting into some of the heaviest material they’ve penned, which then shapeshifts into a poppy, electronic beat for the verse. Their sugary pop hooks belie an occasionally incisive message or frank openness; Woozy talks about the effects of antidepressants (“sertraline got me feelin’ woozy”/ “I’m hazy, come save me”) while The Good Life offers a snarky look at what “making it” means, asking sarcastically “do you want a slice of the good life?”. 

The frank and open discussions extend to mental health; I Think I Hate Myself melds electronic beats at a more middling pace and even drops in a classic rock-inspired guitar solo, amidst honest admissions that “I think I hate myself / all my daydreams send me to hell”. It’s subversive despite the polished veneer, Split Personality delivers more pop punk hooks with synths behind, and offers a blunt assessment again of mental health and medication (“I’m a sociopath with a little taste for ketamine”, for instance). 

The point of this all is clearly not to shock – HOT MILK have been very clear that their aim is for as many people to feel included as possible. Arguably that extends to their musical decisions, too; I Just Wanna Know What Happens When I’m Dead is extremely polished, arguably a little too much. But, the band’s enthusiasm and knack for earworm hooks more than makes up for it and standout songs like Woozy and The Good Life show that they can still do interesting things even within a tried and tested formula. A little more stepping outside their comfort zone and more experimentation and HOT MILK could be a serious contender in the future when a debut album eventually rolls around. 

Rating: 7/10

I Just Wanna Know What Happens When I’m Dead is out now via Music For Nations. 

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