On the Rise
milk.

"There's no outside import of any ideas or any songs or anything, so it kind of feels the truest. I was also learning how to produce while doing it, so I feel like there’s elements where it could sound better, but I think I would rather have it sound a little bit off in parts and still be true to us than have someone else come in and start changing everything.”

Calling in from New York in the middle of a US tour alongside his fellow band members Conor Gorman, Conor King and Morgan Wilson, McKenna is running over the events which lead to the release of 3, the EP., earlier this month. A stunning mix of hushed electronica, indie-inflected sighs and reticent, loaded sentiment, it’s the formidable sound of a band who have found their groove.

Formed in Dublin while all four members were studying at BIMM, it took the group a while to build up to their debut release, the sugar-rush of “Drama Queen” in 2019. A meticulously put together outfit, McKenna and fellow guitarist Gorman were the initial founders. Gorman’s dad was a guitar player, and he’d grown up with the instrument sitting around the house, picking up basic chords from the age of four or five. He was brought up on his dad’s musical tastes, from The Beatles to the Sex Pistols, “All the good pop music really in general,” he laughs.

McKenna, however, grew up in resistance to his parents’ formative inspirations, instead leaning into mid-00s US chart rap. “I rejected my parents' music,” he smiles. It wasn’t until the age of sixteen when he discovered Fall Out Boy that things began to change. “I think it was the song ‘The Take Over, the Breaks Over.’ The idea that people talk about, of music having some profound effect on someone, definitely happened to me that day in the car with my mum listening to the radio, it just changed my view of it completely. I went home, started learning a few things on guitar, a few things on piano, bought a terrible drum kit and annoyed all my neighbours, and then just kind of took off from there.”

McKenna’s multi-instrumentalism proved advantageous when he auditioned for the 2016 movie Sing Street. “I think I was eighteen when I did that, but I didn't want to do acting. I had no intention of doing acting and someone forced me to audition for the movie. I ended up getting it, but I honestly think if I didn't play all the instruments, I probably wouldn’t have,” he says. He’s since gone on to star in a select number of productions, most notably TV series Wayne, but is adamant that milk. remains a democratic affair. “When everyone's doing their part, everyone gets the recognition. If that was how we were to get somewhere it wouldn't feel very real or genuine anymore. It would feel kind of like they’re just listening because of this, they're not listening because they discovered it and enjoyed it. In any creative field, that should never be the intention behind what you're doing. It should always be about what it's about and nothing else.”

Gorman and McKenna enlisted drummer Wilson who had been waiting for the right moment to turn his full attention to music. “I was playing drums the whole time but I wanted to figure out a way to make it part of the bigger picture of my life in some way,” he says. “I listened to all kinds of things growing up. When I started playing drums there was a lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers. I think everyone in young bands can probably attest to that because it's fun to play. I listened to a lot of the things that my mother listened to; Norah Jones and Radiohead, and Dad would have Deftones and bands like Therapy? and heavier things like that.”

Having recorded a collection of songs using the GarageBand phone app, McKenna and Gorman were desperate to hear their works play out live, but still needed to find a bassist. McKenna had his sights on King, but Gorman felt he wouldn’t be into the music. “We asked a few people to play bass and they were all kind of shit, and I was like, ‘We should get King,’” laughs McKenna. “We just kept going to all these other bassists and I was like, ‘These are all shit. Can we just ask him?’ And then I think King heard one of our demos that we had. He didn't know it was us. He was like, that sounds kind of cool and I was like, I fucking knew it.”

King had grown up in a musical family, his grandfather a touring guitarist. “Music was always presented to me as an option that you can do as a realistic thing, it was something that I could pursue,” he explains. Growing up he’d been inspired by his grandfather’s love of The Beatles, eventually picking up a spare bass when his school friends wanted to start a band. Despite initially learning by covering the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Kings of Leon, he continued to develop his talent through more diverse genres. “I was very much an indie kid, but then from learning the instrument I discovered more Motown and soul stuff, just because it's fun to play on bass.”

Having recorded a collection of songs using the GarageBand phone app, McKenna and Gorman were desperate to hear their works play out live, but still needed to find a bassist. McKenna had his sights on King, but Gorman felt he wouldn’t be into the music. “We asked a few people to play bass and they were all kind of shit, and I was like, ‘We should get King,’” laughs McKenna. “We just kept going to all these other bassists and I was like, ‘These are all shit. Can we just ask him?’ And then I think King heard one of our demos that we had. He didn't know it was us. He was like, that sounds kind of cool and I was like, I fucking knew it.

King had grown up in a musical family, his grandfather a touring guitarist. “Music was always presented to me as an option that you can do as a realistic thing, it was something that I could pursue,” he explains. Growing up he’d been inspired by his grandfather’s love of The Beatles, eventually picking up a spare bass when his school friends wanted to start a band. Despite initially learning by covering the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Kings of Leon, he continued to develop his talent through more diverse genres. “I was very much an indie kid, but then from learning the instrument I discovered more Motown and soul stuff, just because it's fun to play on bass.”

Releasing their debut 1, The EP in 2019 with the help of fellow student and producer Adam Richmond, now a member of Dublin band Just Wondering, milk. were ready for 2020 to be their year. However, the world had other plans. “That definitely readjusted,” smiles King. “I think that helped in a way because more people heard the music than they might have, from overseas and stuff. That's why we're here now, doing the US shows. At the time it was really annoying, but good because we got to focus loads on the music as well.”

As their profile and streams began to grow, the band doubled-down writing new material, McKenna developing his own production skills during the pandemic. In 2021 they released their follow up, 2, The EP. and as restrictions lifted, they began to play live around Ireland and the UK as well as overseas. This year, they showcased at SXSW in Austin, Texas while next February they’ll play two big headlines at London's Jazz Cafe and Dublin's Academy. “We hadn't really played loads pre-lockdown and stuff and we're probably still figuring out what the live show looks like,” says King. “I'm actively looking forward to the shows all the time, which is great. I think you’re meant to look forward to the show, right? I think that's how it works.”

Releasing their new 3, The EP. earlier this month, it’s a striking illustration of their progression as a definitive unit. From the opening synthetic pulse of “It’s The Internet’s World We’re Just Living In It.” the collection of songs cruise with delicate production, soft harmonies and incisive social commentary. Balancing contemporary sonics with classic pop hooks, they recall the addictive inertia of The 1975’s wall of guitars with the melodic sentiment of fellow Irish punctuation fans modernlove. Tracks like “London” and “I Think I Lost My Number Can I Have Yours?” are masterful pieces of indulgent storytelling, effortlessly instant.

Pieced together from tracks both newly composed and long held on to, the first single “ I Might Bore You” dropped well over a year ago. With this release a long time coming, milk. are confident in their work and quietly looking forward to what comes next. “This EP that’s just come out, we kind of thought that might have been out a bit sooner, but just the songs all fit together. It just felt like it was a body of work and it kind of made sense I think, to round off the year with it,” says King. “There's definitely stuff that we want to put out, it's just figuring out what it all looks like. We’re really proud of this EP, but I think it's important to let that breath for a second as well.”