Milk

Dublin foursome Milk probably have the least flashy name in the biz, but it makes a lot of sense when you listen to their pared-down John Mayer-brand pop rock. 'Try' is a humble, bluesy ditty with bags of quirk and a classic-sounding hook. Sweet. - Maeve Heslin, Hot Press

Milk’s live performance was outstanding on the night. Their Myspace, although solid, doesn’t give them the full credit they deserve. It was a pleasure to have them play Phantom’s First Friday. This is a band that must really be seen live to be fully appreciated. - Moss Breathnach, Phantom FM presenter and host of Phantom’s First Friday in The Academy every month

I listen to everything I’m sent, and I’m glad Milk contacted me. There is a real thought process behind these songs. Perfectly content in their genre, pop-rock, they have written fresh and intelligent tracks. I’m going to keep pushing them, and I have told Milk to send their EP everywhere! - Dara Quilty, Spin 103.8 presenter and member of band, Fox Avenue

The King Kong Club is now 5 years running. How it works it there are 6 bands on each night, they all play 3 songs each and at the end the 'winners' are decided by the Clap O Meter, a massive empire state building shaped decibel meter. The bands progress through several heats and semi finals. The prize for the final is studio time at Serra Vista Studios in Portugal, most famous for it's long standing usage by Morrissey and run by his producer and guitarist Boz Boorer.


Now, a little bit about music and competition. I'm not a fan, I didn't stick around for the Clap O Meter (Last night's prize was a slot at the Dublin Tattoo Convention). Music is not a tool to pit one band against another, so it shouldn't be used in that way. Ciaran however, possesses none of the obvious nastiness found in some infamous Dublin gig promoters. This guy does it all for the fun, he spent 2 years securing that prize and he clearly puts a lot of work into this set up. His emphasis on fun is honest and fair play to him. He does a bang up job. There is no money involved, bands don't get paid to play (as far as I know), nor do they pay to play, good things surely.


On to the gig. The first band were Castleknock lady killers Milk. I was instantly glad I came to the gig when these guys took the stage. The first thing that came to mind was 'sweet, they're not indie' (very prejudiced I know). The guitars made use of some stunning blues lines, really nice chords, definitely more jazz influenced than rock. This is a nice change from the norm. The songs were put together well and they were surprisingly tight for a relatively new band. If there was another Dublin band I could tie them to it would be History Of Harry, albeit a much younger sounding version. The vocalist was excellent, his bass lines were played very well for somebody who has to sing at the same time, not an easy job when the bass lines are funky as a purple tux at a funeral. I don't know exactly what I meant by that. Anyway, class band, check out their Myspace.


Also the Justin Timberlake cover was a little bit of sugary sweetness.


- by Joe Panama, The Metro