Yes Milky Wimpshake really is one of the worst names around and a contender of worst band name I have to review this year: right up there with Wookalily. However, like Wookalily they easily transcend their terrible name.
Somehow, I have managed to miss the band's first 20 plus years of work although I had heard their name. As far as I know I don't have anything they have previously released.
From the opener You Don't Look Twice, they come on like The Vaselines crossed with a good dose of Felt. There are some pretty cool lo-fi pop songs here. Ping Pong Lovers is a decent catchy little tune concerning of on-off relationships. Do they love each other or just lust after the thrill of the chase, ponders the lyric.
My Girl In Brackets carries on in the same vein and is a lyrical conversation between the bloke and his girl in brackets. As you'd glean from the title. This is followed by the totally marvellous Heterosexuality Is a Construct which is a great song about how pigeonholing people as gay, straight or Bi is just stupid and insisting that people fit neatly in to these boxes is just dumb.
It also shows some of the political intent that might not be totally obvious to the casual listener but is made clear in the press release. Said PR explains the album's title is an old Marxist slogan popular in France and stolen from the film Chinois. So there.
Sexual Deviant is about happily telling some idiot who accuses you of being a Sexual Deviant that yes you are and you are happy to be called one, so just go Fuck Off! It sort of works on the same level as Tom Robinson's Glad to be Gay but without the police and political repression at that song's heart.
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Babylon Lovers is more of a sweet love song than anything. Loose Lips Schtick is another good duet between Pete Dale and Sophie Evans as they sing of the things that annoy them about each other while being in love (or is it just lust?) with each other. This is all carried out over more cool lo-fi pop.
Le Revolution Politique is sung in French and it is a call to arms to bring about the revolution we all need. It's one of the stand out tracks on the album. Coming Soon then adheres to a similar theme of the need for change.
Before they go over the edge on Parachute Drop (which has a good threatening edge to it) they try to get up the courage for the drop before they channel a bit of Attila The Stockbroker on The Beautiful Game as he begs to be taken to a football match and then has the existential problem of not caring who wins and about not liking some of the idiots who support it.
The album closes with the gritty-sounding In Spite Of These Times which asks us to promise never to forget. Well I won't forget this album anywhere as easily as I forget some of the albums I review and yes I do want to hear this again.
If you like good quality, lo-fi pop then this album is well worth finding from the good folk at Fortuna Pop online
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