ep review ~ 'are you happy?' ~ m y l k

M Y L K
For fans of: Weezer, Los Campesinos!, The Muffs

M Y L K are the sound of a Summer day slowly fading into the evening. Vibrant and glorious, yet tinged with the sadness of knowing it can't quite last forever.

'Are You Happy?' is a record painting an honest picture of love, self doubt and the reality of life in the 21st Century. Straddling the line between sincerity and irony is a tough game to play, but one M Y L K do brilliantly over the course of four tracks, each with their own story to tell.

It's an emotional bombardment from the very first line, which see's frontman Brendan Seamus channel his inner Frank Skinner, dropping  poignant social commentary all over his band's infectious energy. Whilst opening a record with the line "Wish I didn't miss you anymore"is a refreshingly honest approach on it's own, to do so over the top of punchy-indie guitars and an uptempo drum beat keeps things cheeky, but meaningful, a recurring theme on this full throttle EP.

If 'Sad and Lonely's doomed romance sets a bleak scene, the title track doesn't do much to bring things back from the brink for our plucky protagonist. A banging indie-pop anthem, this time fronted by Empty Lungs guitarist Kevin Jones, 'Are You Happy?'s sweet harmonies and charming riffs disguise the fight 'to get better' that goes on throughout the track, albeit with their tongue placed firmly in cheek.

"Is it gonna get better? It won't get better!"

'At A Loss' follows a similar pattern, in probably the most infectious pop song about alcoholism you'll hear this year. For a finalé, we find 'Slane Girl', a song so desperately needed in today's rapidly regressing society that it's words catch fire from the very first listen. This melancholic tale of a girl humiliated at a music festival packs an emotional punch that the other songs on this record flirt with, without exploring in quite as much detail.

"We bully to deflect our miserable reality, and wish we had the guts to express our sexuality"

So how do we feel after repeated listens to M Y L K? 

...are you happy?

As I'm brought back to that fading Summer day, I have to say yes.

Taylor Johnson