MILK MUSIC at the Garrison (1197 Dundas West), tonight (Thursday, June 13), 1 am. NXNE wristband or $15. nxne.com.
Milk Music hail from Olympia, Washington, a Pacific Northwest enclave near Seattle familiar to music fans as Kurt Cobain’s spiritual home.
That’s a major ghost hanging over any band, especially one that marries distorted guitars to classic rock hooks and a defiant punk ethic at odds with their breakout success.
It’s no huge surprise, then, that singer/guitarist Alex Coxen balks at the word “grunge.”
But what drew Cobain to Olympia was the rich scene surrounding cult figures like Calvin Johnson, who epitomized the DIY indie code that fuelled late-80s underground heroes Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr. and Hüsker Dü.
Milk Music’s debut LP, Cruise Your Illusion (Fat Possum), nods to all of them while carving out its own sprawling, ramshackle identity. More importantly, it drips with a perfectly fuzzy guitar tone that washes over you in ways that should sound even more sublime blasting from the Garrison’s ear-splitting sound system.
If you like Milk Music, also check out Destruction Unit at the Garrison, tonight (Thursday, June 13), midnight or Fucked Up at the Horseshoe, Saturday (June 15), 1 am. Both NXNE wristband or $15.
