Q&A: What Milk.’s Been Up To (Lately)

PHOTOS BY TALLULAH TOTTEN

It was a brief moment at the back of the dimly lit Troubadour pit last December: hand in hand with your closest friends, jumping around to “Drama Queen,” that cemented milk. as a band to remember. With an intoxicatingly fun, experimental sound, paired alongside earnest lyrics, milk. has established themselves as a band with an ever-evolving set of tunes that keep you coming back for more. Hailing from Dublin, the quartet—composed of singer/guitarist Mark Mckenna, guitarist Conor Gorman, bassist Conor King, and drummer Morgan Wilson—emerged to the scene in 2019 with a series of catchy singles, and later their first EP, released during quarantine. A mix of ambient, synth-driven tracks, and danceable fast-paced songs, their first EP establishes a range of moods that bleeds into their second body of work that maintains that signature layered, melodic sound. 

If there is one thing to know about milk., however, it’s that the group isn't afraid to switch it up. With the release of their self-produced 3, The EP, the band has taken a new approach, one that places emphasis on songwriting, stripped-back instrumentation, and live sound. Ranging from urgent, expressive guitar that analyzes the disconnect of the online world in “It’s The Internet’s World, We’re Just Living In It,” to a softer, soul-searching acoustic approach mixed with a twangy, bright banjo in “I Think I Lost My Number, Can I Have Yours?,” there is no right way to categorize the band’s expanding sound—just that it cannot be contained to a few genre-coded words. It is this adventurous approach to each body of work that keeps the four sounding sincere.

From their first headline US tour in 2023 to now, it is clear that each gig milk. plays comes from a place of heart and determination, forming an attitude surrounding them that makes their live performance intimate and always exciting to witness. Playing two special shows in LA and NY to showcase new songs to fans, Pleaser had the pleasure of sitting down with the four at The Echo, a venue nestled on LA’s Sunset Blvd, to talk new music, writing process, Monster addictions, and more. 

Pleaser: What inspired each of you to pick up an instrument and start in the first place? 

Mark Mckenna: I didn’t get into playing music until I was about sixteen. I got into it after I heard a Fall Out Boy song and then I wanted to learn drums after that. After I wanted to learn drums, I saw Patrick Stump, the singer, play a lot of instruments and you know I was like, I want to be able to play a lot of instruments like that. After that, I just felt very good. It felt very fulfilling. 

Pleaser: Can I ask what Fall Out Boy song?

MK: I believe it was “The Take Over, The Breaks Over.”

Conor Gorman: I started playing guitar when I was really young. My dad played guitar, and there was always a guitar around the house, so I learned how to strum a few chords when I was about five or six. Then I went to my first concert, I saw Green Day and I was like okay, that looks cool…I learned guitar after that. 

Morgan Wilson: Mine is quite similar to Gormie’s. My uncle played drums when I was a kid and at the time, he was living really close to my family home, and he would let me mess around on his drum kit in his room from the age of probably three or four. I remember formative moments of music where I realized that if I learned to do this really well, like I got really good at this, you can have that same kind of capacity to move and express yourself as all these people I was watching on TV, and so then I was really focused on it throughout school. At fifteen, I knew then that it was what I wanted to do in college and beyond. It became more legitimate for me when I narrowed my focus. But it’s been around my whole life. 

Conor King: I guess in a similar way, my grandad was a musician and still is. He would play with different artists. Music to me was always presented as a viable job. It was encouraged and it was treated as something like oh, that’s what you want to do, then work hard and do it. I was fortunate enough to have family that didn’t want me to give that up. 

Pleaser: What song for you guys has the best memories tied to it, whether that’s what the song is about or if the process of making it was enjoyable? 

MW: That’s actually a tough question.

CG: That’s a good one.

MK: There was a terrible experience.

Pleaser: You can also give us a terrible experience, that could be fun.

MM: I remember making “Drama Queen,” the first time, and we went back to mix it and our producer was like, uh, the file is corrupted, so we have to start from scratch.

MM: Or fucking—when we were working on “I Don’t Mind Falling In Love With You”—we had done a full three or four hours of work and Logic crashed.

CK: And it was proper in-the-moment stuff like yeah, yeah, let’s put it in. 

MM: I feel like, a good experience, with no specific song—we kind of do a lot in a day—all the new stuff is all being recorded in a studio with real drums and nice gear and all that kind of stuff, so it’s nice to have that more legit experience tied to it, instead of just in my apartment like I used to do. 

CK: I have really good memories about recording the second EP—that time there were really strict restrictions at home COVID-wise. We set, every Tuesday and Thursday, and it was always something to look forward to for a whole summer. Every time we’d be there, we’d go for lunch around the same time and I stupidly developed a Monster habit.

Pleaser: The energy drink?

CK: Yeah, I was like why did I ever start drinking that?

Pleaser: Favorite flavor?

CK: It’s the mango one. Or the fruit punch, it’s like beige colored, the can is kinda textured—

Pleaser: The coffee one? 

CK: No, no, it’s like the pirate one. 

Pleaser: The coffee one is horrible by the way.

MM: The coffee one is dogshit. 

CK: I kicked the habit now, yeah I’ve kicked it—but we’d go and it could be all night. 

CK: That whole EP was a really good experience. 

Pleaser: On that same note, what does your songwriting process look like? If you would like to add if there’s any specific lyric that you’re particularly having written?

MM: Generally, I’ll start an idea and send it to the lads. I’ll get general input on what should change, what should stay, and what should be rearranged. I’ll write like a very kind of basic bassline, and when we go to finish the song, I’ll bring it King and he’ll kind of make it worse—

CK: [laughs] Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

MM: A lyric I’m proudest of? Jesus Christ, they’re all terrible–

CK: My favorite lyric from the new tune is the second verse of “Once in a Lifetime,” a song that isn’t out yet.

MM: I feel like there’s one in “Lost My Number.” I feel like that one is probably, to me, one of the strongest songs lyrically. It’s not particularly deep, but I’ve always liked the line “I’m too scared of changing / So I'm thinking about rearranging.” 

Pleaser: What has being self-produced been like for you guys? Can you walk us through a studio session?

MM: I love that we’re self-produced now. I find that my general experience of music was always very like—I’d go to the studio where I record something with someone, and I’d leave not feeling satisfied by it. It would be like semi what I wanted it to sound like, but not really what I wanted it to sound like. And when you work or picture your whole life going towards something, and then you get there a little bit, and you leave feeling disappointed by it, or that obviously something is wrong, you wonder: how do I fix that? I think over COVID it was like, if there was a time for me to learn how to produce it would be now. If there’s a time for me to make things sound how I want them to sound, it would be now. I did a deep dive into production during COVID and, to me, I prefer the direction of the sound now. The sessions are very—we’ll just—

CG: It’s more chill. More relaxed.

MM: We’re just throwing ideas and seeing what sticks. 

Pleaser: Drink a Monster, write a hit.

MM: I actually don’t think I’ve ever drank a full can of Monster. 

Pleaser: Good. Save yourself. 

MM: I’ve had a sip of other people’s. 

Pleaser: Saving it for the album.

MM: [laughs] Yeah, yeah. 

Pleaser: What do you guys hope listeners will take away from your music or any upcoming music?

MM: For me, I think if people—it’s like when someone asks—like I hate when people are like what’s that song about, well f*cking listen to the song. I hope people take away what they get from it instead of looking for an answer from somebody else. 

Pleaser: If you guys could go back and soundtrack any movie, which would each of you pick?

MM: Do we soundtrack it with our own music or are we in charge of it?

Pleaser: Whichever way you would like to take the question.

CK: I think this is a bit of a weird one because it’s a dark film, but you could do a lot of stuff for Trainspotting. Because it’s mad, but then there’s also the club scene where you could write a banger. Then there’s also the baby and the wall scene where you could get weird. 

Pleaser: Or the toilet scene?…fun.

CK: Yeah, yeah, exactly. I just think that there’s enough weirdness in there that you make it really interesting. Of course, the soundtrack to that is already one of the best movie soundtracks ever.

MM: That’s a very good question. I don’t want to give a typical—oh, a John Hughes movie—it’s gotta be like some fucking weird movie where you could get like mad experimental.

CK: Oldboy. 

MM: Oldboy. Yeah, yeah. I’d soundtrack it by just not putting a soundtrack. The whole movie just—

Pleaser: White noise?

MM: [laughs] Yeah. 

CG: Recently I watched Clockwork Orange for the first time…you could do something weird with it.

MW: I’m going to go on a left turn here, and I think that if we were to score something, we’d do a good job on some sort of atmospheric space thing. Like if we ended up in a bit of a Wall-E…I feel like we’d do well. I think we’re good at a nice wholesome melody.

MM: Yeah, actually a Pixar movie would be—a big—big as Randy Newman or something. 

MW: We’re almost at Randy Newman.

Pleaser: Are there any particular feelings or “vibes” you guys are leaning into with your upcoming music? 

MM: Still figuring that out

MW: It’s just all vibes. 

MM: Whole thing is vibes.  

MW: Probably leaning towards a more live kind of sound. I guess it’s more intimate sounding. It’s not quite as expansive and maximalist, but it’s much easier to tell exactly what it is that’s going on, and what I think as musicians we’re doing, you know? 

MM: I think there’s also a world—at the minute anyway—it’s not all like one particular thing. Like there’s one song that’s kinda like a reference to one type of music, and then there will be another song that will be a reference to a different type of music, in a kind of obvious way I suppose if you’re keen to it. I’m a big fan of Ron Sexsmith, and there’s one song that we have, that we’re working on, that to me, is just like our Ron Sexsmith song. But it’s the only song that sounds like that so far. 

Pleaser: What’s one song that you guys wish you had written?

MM: Actually, we had this question recently. I gave an answer and I regretted it.

CK: Yeah, same. I couldn’t remember what I wanted to say. 

MM: I’d say “Cutting the Grass” by Levi Turner. It’s an unbelievable song. He’s a new enough lad, he’s a country singer. His lyrics are so fucking good it’s crazy. 

CK: In the spirit of this week…Oasis “Live Forever.” 

MW: I’ve always loved “All I Need” by Radiohead. I think the way it’s arranged is amazing. I love the synths in that song. It has such a kind of gravitas and importance to it. It really compels you to take it seriously and to engage with it and I think that’s really amazing. So I reckon that would be it. 

CG: I was going to say Karma Police.

CK: I actually reckon I’m going to go “In My Life” by The Beatles. 

MM: I’m staying on “Cutting the Grass” by Levi Turner. A bit more conviction. 

Pleaser: Are there any fun stories from tour—we know you guys have been here a few times—any fun little tidbits that you can share with us? 

MM: King will tell the best. F*cking…Manchester. 

MW: I’ll put myself up for the bit here. This makes me look awful and that’s okay. 

CK: Look…you’ve seen the setup. We’re ballin’ on a budget, alright? And we’ve been ballin’ on a budget for a while. So there’s a place you can stay in Manchester that is like a youth hostel, and it’s affordable, which is great. I think the first time we were doing a show, or even the second time doing a show in Manchester—we stayed there both times—it’s like, your typical thing, it's like a youth hostel so it’s super secure. You need a key card to get up to the rooms and you need a key card for the room. So we’re all in one with like three bunk beds, and there's a pool downstairs, so we were playing a bit of pool. I think Morgan had gone up—

MM: We were being—me, King, and our sound guy Ethan—Gormie and Morgan had gone to bed at this point…

CG: I think Morgan had gone up—

MK: Oh yeah, you followed him…you followed him.

CK: Morgan had gone up and were playing pool—on a side note, I ordered beer turned out it was non-alcoholic beer—anyway that was grand, then we were just playing away, so there are these stairs and Conor comes down and he can’t talk, he’s just laughing so much, so we run up, and we see—like a deer in headlights on the top of the stairs: Morgan in his underwear. He got locked out. He had left the key card in the room and was in the purgatory…

MW: So I’m stuck between two key card doors in a hallway—I’m in a glass box—I’m stuck in a glass box in my boxers. 

MM: And now…now he’s on a list.  

MW: I just needed one key card, but everyone ran up to see what was going on. Not my finest era. There was nobody else in the hallway apart from band members and courier loads so…

CK: It could’ve been worse.

MW: I got very lucky in that regard…it could’ve easily been so much worse is what you say when it was already terrible. 

CK: On a nice note, one of my favorite memories from the US tour we did in December was the drive. We had a day off between Colorado and Phoenix. It was like driving through the mountains—that was sick.

Pleaser: What's been on repeat for everyone recently? 

MM: Sabrina Carpenter’s album. The whole thing. 

Pleaser: No one’s allowed to say Oasis. 

[Pulling out their phones] 

Pleaser: Oh, pulling out the receipts. 

CK: Everyone, pull out their on repeat. 

MK: Honestly, “Taste,” is like…blasting.

CK: It’s so good.

MW: The new Fontaines album is fantastic. Really into that. Or the Four Tet remix of Love Sick by Mura Masa.

CK: Honestly, “Diet Pepsi” by Addison Rae…a tune. 

Pleaser: Yeah! Tunes. 

CK: And some might say Oasis is underneath it, so…

Once they hit the stage, milk. debuts various new tracks to the crowd. Catchy, sweet guitar riffs and rhythmic, hearty basslines fill The Echo as the band oscillates between new and old tunes. Each new song unravels a layer to the band as a whole, creating a hum of anticipation that courses through the venue—and remains steadily pulsing for the rest of the show. Undoubtedly, there is an exciting future for milk. as they continue to cultivate a distinct sound that is sure to keep audiences tuned in and eagerly awaiting what's in store.