Clean Cut Kid - Mother’s Milk
Clean Cut Kid’s 3rd album, ‘Mother’s Milk’, provides a beautiful exploration into both parental and romantic love. It also serves as an ode to the importance of women in front-man Mike’s life, including his wife, Evelyn, also a member of the band. Coinciding with their recent signing to both UK and US record labels, Clean Cut Kid recently made the decision to release their previously vinyl-exclusive album, digitally.
The album features stripped-back melodies and honest, emotion-fuelled lyrics. This DIY sound is echoed in the recording process, which the band tried to keep as authentic as possible by recording straight to tape. In their short film, ‘Curdled, The Mother’s Milk Story’ (released alongside the album), Mike reveals how the inspiration for the album lies with his family and his growing realisation of their importance as he gets older. This delve into maturity is mirrored in not only the albums themes but also its 60s-influenced sound; Clean Cut Kid have left their indie-pop days behind, making room for a beautiful mosaic of Lo-Fi , folk and soft-rock. Previously held back by label constraints, the band has gone through a musical metamorphosis, and this transformation is memorising to witness.
The album’s opening track, ‘Get Born, Grow Up and Move Away’, contains woman-led vocals, perfectly complimenting the album's themes. Coupled with lulling melodies and layered harmonies, this gives the track an ethereal, gospel-like sound. The lyrics also uncover an almost sacred quality to Mike and Evelyn’s relationship: ‘you and I are two people made from the same piece of clay’.
Fans will already be familiar with the lead single ‘Woman’, released a few days before the album. This track perfectly encapsulates the shift in sound that the band wanted to achieve, being a personal favourite. Mike reveals how this track holds emotional importance to him, commenting on reliance in love and the similarities between his own relationship with his wife, and his Father’s with his Mother: ‘just like me, you need the love of a woman’. Another standout for me is ‘You, A Part of Me’, featuring country-infused riffs and adding yet another influence to the band’s soundscape.
Clean Cut Kid released their highly anticipated album on the 2nd June, with the band set for their UK tour from July 13th. I, along with many fans, am excited about whatever they choose to do next.
9.5/10
