Serial Milk's Animal Disguise EP release show

On the 30th April, a special gathering was happening at La Sottorenea. Bands who book shows on week days are always on a gamble. Who knows how many people will show up after work, knowing they have to come in to work on the next day. But as summer approaches, people tend to go out more and that means that every booked shows week or weekend can benefice a larger crowd. I was one of those people who was working on Friday but decided that the beautiful weather and sun was enough to get me out of my basement for the night. So I grabbed my suit, ran to my car and drove right up to La Sottorenea in a hurry. Serial Milk, a band who's gaining more attention following the release of their brilliant EP titled Animal Disguise, where celebrating their new music accompanied of In Headlights and Escape. I was quite curious to see Escape as I'd never heard of em', In Headlights I'd seen at B7 previously but was not quite familiar with their sound.

Upon arrival, parking found, and inside I go. The show is about to start, it's around 8h30, the room is fuller than expected. A quick chat with the bandmates in Serial Milk and there goes Escape, embarking on stage. Escape have been together since 2019, a band from Quebec, who's covers are great. I say so, because they have talent, they have a great energy on stage, but their execution of proper material left a feeble impression on me. They seemed more invested in their cover of Killing In The Name Of by Rage Agains't the Machine on stage rather than personalising their own songs. The high-octane playing was there believe me, but I do believe they have to work out on their image, bring some more danger to their name. For example, Led Zeppelin, they started with covers mostly, but they executed the playing on stage with a sense of danger, the risk of everything blowing up on stage was always present and felt by the crowd. I sincerely urge Escape to add this sense of stage presence, of danger to their set and band image. Seeing them that night, it felt like their sound was very much passe-partout, lacking an element of uniqueness or simply an element of danger. Think of The Who, at the start, they weren't technical prodigys, but image-wise, their high-octane shows became memorable, it was stuff of legends. Nonetheless, I want to say, their show wasn't complete bollocks, simply they should maybe lean into Bowie's, Kiss or Alice Cooper's theatrical side or simply tear down venues like Zeppelin or The Who did back in the days. Playing rock n roll onstage isn't going to cut it anymore.

In second came In Headlights. A band who's singer comes onstage with his hood on, unfazed by the crowd or the musicians around. He rumbles, chants about the band before the first song comes on. Instruments start breathing, like an old motor, they seem to have a bit of trouble starting. In fact their first number seemed more like an improvisation than a proper song. The singer squirls, screems reminding me of Deftones but no biblical lines are actually sung. Their set kicks off eventually, showcasing a mastery of Plini's math-rock guitar licks while the singer manages to recount tales of forest burning and other stories for the living man. As for theatrical looks, they surely up the game a notch. The singers Chino Moreno like vocal execution upon melodies that dig deep in Radiohead like drone riffs combined with grooves that at stained by Polyphia's complex rythms and tempos grant them the crowds cheering. At times, it felt hard a bit to follow the band in between songs as they seem a bit too relaxed, but else, their songs were memorable and they displayed a great chemistry onstage. I sure recommend anyone to go see them live to coin their style better as I admit having a bit of a hard time coining them in a musical corner for they seem to diverse their sound quite a lot.

Lastly, Serial Milk came onstage. Three guitars, bass and drum.  They were excited to present their new EP, an energy that was transmitted to the concert goers. The singers intensity while singing was tremendous, although his voice was coated in a heavy dream-like U2esque reverb, we could feel pain, pleasure and general investment in the songs. The guitarists and the bassist were set loose through out the night, showcasing sweet balance between em', a complicity that added dynamics to every song and melodic passages. Behind them, the drummer followed every cue and made sure to pave the highway for the intensity of every song. Overall, their performance was inspiring, they clinged on to the albums color, the voice, the riffs, their looks onstage just gave it away. The excitement I had while listening to their EP was present at the listening party. I was especially stocked as they finished their set with their single Vermillion, they played it mintly with such sincerity and energy! I think they played their cards smartly, they didn't try to redefine their image or sound, they stuck to their grunge hard rock sound and fully embrace the hype around their new material freshly released. Serial Milk is a promising act that could easily one day fill up stadiums, that's if of course we still have Stadium-like shows in the next ten years. 

Serial Milk's new EP Animal Disguise

Before I end the article, Escape have no upcoming shows announced but still you can go and listen to their single released recently on any streaming platforms. As for In Headlights, they are performing May 8th alongside Sietch, Chop Sue Me, Insomniak at La Sottorenea, an excellent occasion to go see them once more. Serial Milk have yet to announce another date, but I strongly encourage you to go stream their EP Animal Disguise which was released recently. PS. If I am critical at times, it is simply because I've seen a lot of shows and god knows that local bands don't play in hopes of gigging at pubs and bars all their lives, their looking to grow and evolve their sound and audience. That said, I believe important to state the flaws or greatness because that is what distinguishes those who will widen their horizons versus those who'll reach a plateau if they don't spice up their acts. Thanks for reading and have a great day.