It's finally time! Four years after they first started releasing music, Hot Milk is finally dropping their debut album, A Call To The Void. Their electronic pop-punk sound has been super intriguing to me and one that I've kept a close following on, and when I found out that they're taking the plunge with a full-length, I was pretty excited. Hot Milk's discography up until this point has had a few bangers that I love, so I was curious to see what they might do for an album.
For all intents and purposes, I think they hit the nail on the head with this one. They checked all the boxes and then some, when it came to making a great debut album. They refined their sound even more, took a few hard lefts on some songs to spice things up, and put together a pretty cohesive and compelling album experience. It's a short and sweet record with a runtime barely surpassing thirty minutes, and just one guest feature, but that's more than enough for me when it comes to them. Pop punk isn't known for long albums anyways.
They've always been more of the pop than the punk, with extremely strong pop sensibilities and great vocal melodies. I can always rely on Hot Milk to bring a chorus that I will want to sing along to, and most cuts on this record are no exception. It's not octane-core, but it definitely has no issue going on rock radios. That aside, they've actually managed to present a pretty diverse palette of songs, from the comedic punk of ALICE COOPER'S POOL HOUSE to the borderline metalcore intensity of OVER YOUR DEAD BODY. While we're on it, I also have to say, super surprised and impressed by the screams on the latter track, did not think they would be going down that path anytime soon but it floored me, especially those lows and highs on "antichrist". Han also gets some grit on for MIGRAINE, which is an exciting prospect for me on their future music possibilities.
They definitely have their formula down on lock, as A Call To The Void has everything you'd want in a debut album. It's a very well rounded album showcasing just about every facet of their current evolving sound, with a few new punches just to make things even more exciting. It might not have a singular cut that beats my love for Awful Ever After, but the insane consistency is undeniably impressive, as it's at the very least 7/10s for me all across the board. Maybe not the most revolutionary, but definitely a fun album to listen to front to back, and I can never complain about a good time.
Rating: 8/10