Earlier this year, it was announced that New Brunswick, New Jersey three-piece Milkmen had signed with Know Hope records and would be reissuing a re-mixed/re-mastered version of the band’s self-titled debut on September 14th, 2018.
Having originally formed in 2014 at Rutgers University, Milkmen hit the ground running and became a part of the thriving New Jersey underground scene. With influences ranging from artists like RX Bandits to Weatherbox, the band became a staple in their local scene, before eventually spreading throughout the Northeastern part of the country through an incredible active touring schedule in 2015.
Their self-titled debut album initially was released on December 25th, 2015 following a string of singles, and was produced by Kory Gable at The Keleidoscope in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Now, nearly three years after its release, the band found that perfect partner with Know Hope and decided it was time to look back on that debut album.
We are excited to be partnering with Milkmen today to premiere the remixed/re-mastered version of their song “I Think I Know,” which you can find at the top of the post.
We also did a brief Q&A session with the band regarding the track, re-release, as well as their future plans – which include a new album next year.
Check out our Q&A with Milkmen below, and after listening to “I Think I Know,” head here to pre-order the re-release of their self-titled album.
You originally released your self-titled debut album nearly three years ago now. What do you remember about recording that album? The process behind it and everything that went into it?
Recording the S/T was a blast. We tracked the album over 11 days at The Kaleidoscope in Lancaster, PA with engineer Kory Gable (of our labelmates Sleepy Limbs). Kory, Ben Roth (also of Sleepy Limbs), and our friend Jon Smith had just leased this incredible, giant warehouse space. Our S/T was one of the first full lengths recorded there; we were able to take our time, experiment a lot, and have fun with it, and it all turned out great.
What made now the right time to do a remixed/remastered version of this self-titled album?
The S/T means a lot to us; we love that record. But, you listen to an album enough times, over a long enough period of time, and you start to nitpick things (ESPECIALLY when it’s your own record). When Know Hope approached us with the chance to put it out on wax, Kory offered to remix it, Jon Smith offered to remaster it, and we had our chance to tighten up the screws.
Can you talk a little about the song we are premiering, “I Think I Know”?
Our bassist, Brian, joined the band about halfway through writing the first album, and I think this is the first song the three of us wrote together.
I Think I Know is about not wanting to do things the dun dun dun normal way (whatever that means) while simultaneously having a hangnail desire to have my shit together like everyone else seems to.
I know you’re preparing to a release a brand new album next year, as well, how far into that process are you?
Yes we are! The material being written for LP2 is really exciting. Song-wise, it’s showcasing a level of musical performance and technicality way beyond the self-titled release. On the S/T, we were still learning: how to be a band, how to write together, how to write a song in general. Of course we’re still learning, but we’ve settled into this beautiful place between shredding really hard, and grooving really tastefully, where we don’t compromise listenability. That, and we’ve really begun to challenge the idea of what people think is a ‘conventional’ song structure on this one, to make it more enjoyable and explorative for us, while giving something to the listener that establishes a unique identity for our music. –Brian
You just wrapped up a summer tour not too long ago, do you have any upcoming plans or will it just be about working on the new album?
Our tour philosophy has always been: play as many new places as possible and return to spots we’ve enjoyed playing. We did 18 days this summer and hit both of those goals. Moving forward, we’re definitely going to be spending a lot of our time working on the album, but we plan on using any time off from work/school to tour regionally, and hopefully get out for a longer run this January so we can road-test some of the new jams! Our next gig is a house show in New Haven, CT on September 21st, slide into our DMs for the address! @milkmenband on instagram.
