The Milk, Band on the Wall. 26th September 2025

The Milk are back. It’s been a long time since I last saw them live. Far too long. They’re returning with a new album, their fourth and it’s a corker, but then so were the previous three. There’s nothing like being in the room with them though. There’s a buzz of expectation in Band on the Wall, where I’ve seen them play before, everyone eager for some life affirming soul. That’s The Milk’s stock and trade, super solid, super soul and fuck me are they good at it. The gorgeously lush and cinematic ‘I Need Your Love’ from the new record starts us off and it’s immediately evident that they’re as tight as ever. Rick’s voice is just sublime, this is going to be good. ‘Wild Chained Man’ is met with cheers as that Hammond organ sound warms up the room. They’re a tight unit, but look sort of like a jam band, not the clothes, they all look sharp, but the way they play together, it’s so fluid. Speaking of which ‘Wanderlust’ is buttery smooth as the moves begin to break out around the room. Arms sway, feet tap, there’s some deep shoulder action. Rick straps on a white guitar with gold inlays for ‘Broke Up The Family’ and things get raw and raucous. It’s Friday night and they know how to put the hammer down. ‘Knock Me Out for 10’ switches from sultry desperation to venomous swagger as it glides from verse to chorus. Seriously powerful stuff. The gear changes are impressive as they shift down to ‘Deliver Me’. The pace gets loungey but they lose none of their impact. It’s those harmonies, the swell of the guitars and the luscious rhythm that underpins what now sounds like a stone cold classic. Rick’s back at the piano for the title track of the new record. It’s great to see ‘Borderlands’ lapped up by the crowd. Particularly by a group of lads down the front all singing to one another. Rick spots it, so does Dan, you can tell they feel the love. ‘Darling What’s Wrong’ is back in the set we’re told at the merch guys request. All I can say is great call. It’s lovely and loose, the thick bass counters to Rick’s higher register and Dan’s sumptuous solos. ‘Loaded Dice’ is the banging new single and sounds fantastic. Luke’s up on the drum riser, his bass locked in. It is spoilt slightly by some gobshite woman who won’t shut the fuck up, despite the glares from everyone around her, but I seem to make a similar comment about someone at pretty much every gig I go to these days. The world is full of cunts. It was nicer when The Milk first started I’m sure and it’s back to the start we go with ‘(All I Wanted Was) Danger’. These early songs are undoubtably the party tunes, but it’s striking to hear how much they’ve grown through the catalogue. They return for the encore with ‘Don’t Give Up The Night’. I can’t believe where the time has gone! It builds like a celebratory monster and for a second it feels like they might close with it. There’s been a lot from their second album, Favourite Worry though and it’s with its title track that they close. Rick misses the line into the second verse, but honestly they’re so smooth, it sounds like they’re just having fun. Dan instead fills in and boy he’s got some voice too. The crowd pick up the “keep on keeping on” refrain, Mitch smashes the drums, Rick shouts “I say yeah” and the crowd reply. They really go for the jugular as soul turns to rock. A massive wall of energy emulating from the stage. Then as if a switch is flicked, they stop with the sort of precision that although abrupt, sounds utterly marvellous. Take a bow, The Milk are back!