LA's Milly are mournful yet optimistic on debut outing Eternal Ring

Centring around Brendan Dyer’s songwriting and the support of bassist Yarden Erez, Milly hark to a passage from small town origins to Californian climes, bridging high school years spent absorbing the music of Hawthorn Heights to touring alongside signature names of the last decade such as DIIV and Swervedriver.

Originally a solo vehicle for Dyer, Milly’s autobiographically-lensed lyrics avoid feeling obscured by the weight of a grunge and alternative frame. Their febrile independence soon found a home with Dangerbird Records – having caught the attention of A&R head and Modest Mouse / Grandaddy lead guitarist Jim Fairchild.

Set against the backdrop of such flux, Eternal Ring is the apex of a journey marked by line-up changes and the upheaval of personal transition, themes that shadowed the assertive sound of second EP Wish Goes On, tension and melancholic drift seen in chiselled form on their debut record. Dyer’s Connecticut upbringing provides much of the context for an understated yet impassioned collection of tracks that finds its compass navigating the past, present, future and beyond – a sonic and emotional depth that juxtaposes with its familiar range of delivery.

Earning early standout status, “Marcy” is rendered with honeyed licks and Dyer’s wavering Stephen Malkmus-leaning drawl, whilst “Illuminate” sets its sights on the pop-punk heyday of the early to mid-noughties, blurring between Taking Back Sunday’s precocious anthems and the mellow surge of Saves the Day. Eternal Ring doesn’t limit itself in terms of subjects, with the astral pull of “The End” pondering on the afterlife and an existential fear of the unknown.

Dyer couples the latter’s softer focus with anarchic flare-ups, pared down moments that hint at his former life leading garage rock outfit Furnsss. Such subtle jamming of ideas, binding everyday commentary with lurches into the philosophical, situate Milly’s debut as a mournful and yet youthfully optimistic statement.