Melbourne's MILKSICK deliver their newest single, 'Gothic Apothecary', a delicious ear-worm of crazed rhythms, manic tones and marauding riffs to make your feet dance.
Just the third single released by the self-described 'psych punk gremlins' – following previous songs 'Midas' and 'Goblin' – 'Gothic Apothecary' is the final piece of the band's concept trilogy exploring internet age personas and issues.A sludgy, squirmy, bluesy-punk, psych-groove pops and twangs hinting at a controlled looseness that quickly develops once the nasally-taunt vocals enter the equation, the doomy-psychedelic tones heightened.
The vintage post-punk, '70s rock feels are given life by screeching, chaotic guitars that veer into angular early 2000s rock as the rhythm section pounds with an intensity born of mania oscillating between total freak-out and quieter moments of introspection.
The song's momentum continues to build like an oncoming tsunami wave before the track descends into a murky yet trippy wall of avant-garde rock that finally returns to the sludgy groove that opened proceedings.
Ahead of the song's release tomorrow (10 July), today scenestr is stoked to premiere the 'Gothic Apothecary' music video (that portions of the footage was created by Brendan Frost). Enjoy.
"With our first three singles, I tried to branch off from the singular idea of internet age character personas or issues that have only emerged from the isolation of humans through technology, whether that be online criminal activity or meme rage culture," vocalist Sam Birkhead says.
"For this one, I kept circling back to modern music production and how a large portion of music these days is being created in a dark, moody bedroom on a laptop surrounded by synths and drum machines – very Mozart-esque.
"It really brings forth a theatrical picture of a mad scientist or chemist exploring a frontier of sounds or new genres. These people have day jobs and normal lives, but then retreat into this vortex of cyborg-like creativity."
MILKSICK's next confirmed gig is at The Tote Front Bar (Melbourne) on 31 August with Snailgun and TENCH.
