Hot Milk are in a good place, emotionally and literally. It’s a couple of hours before they’re warming up 2000 Trees with a Wednesday appearance on the Forest Stage, and their latest album, ‘Corporation Pop’, hit the shelves two weeks ago. “Oh mate, I was really worried about this record because we wrote it so quickly,” admits vocalist Han Mee. “We were written in three weeks so it was just like, here you go, delivered and we were like, is it shit because it was so quick? You don't have much time to reflect. So to hear that our fans are into it is a joy.” “We're very happy about it,” agrees guitarist Jim Shaw, “It’s been really cool. We've just done a whole bunch of in-stores playing stuff acoustically, which is really hard if you've listened to the record. There ain't much to grab onto acoustically on there! So it's been sick hearing that people are enjoying it.” He waves a hand to Mee, who takes over. “We were too close to it, I think, and yeah, we're not going to do that again. Put it that way: we’re not going to do three weeks.”

It seems like going full blast on making ‘Corporation Pop’ worked out well for us as listeners, even though it was a huge effort for the band. ‘Insubordinate Ingerland’, one of the earlier singles, strikes a chord in it’s discussion of our national identity, but didn’t immediately connect with the crowds according to Mee. “It went over a lot of people’s heads. If you’ve never heard the song before [and] a lot of people have never heard of our band before, you hear, ‘I’m England till I die.’ Some people take it at face value when really it’s like an ironic look at Britain; an ironic look at Englishisms and identity. You know, I always say when Johnny Rotten said ‘God Save the Queen’, is that what he meant? No, it’s not. So we’re kind of being like, oh you’re England till you die but look at all of this other shit. What are you fighting for? So for me, it was just kind of a look at Britain in a muddy puddle and just taking the piss out of ourselves and being like, what, who are we? We can’t fly that flag because nationalism for us is a bit silly and it always so feels like we’re in this middle ground of is it in the bin or are we supposed to be proud to be English? I don’t. It’s very confusing and so we just wanted to talk about that because I feel like no one talks about how it’s confusing to be English.”

“I think it’s just like we’ve kind of made a name for ourselves, especially around Europe of being arrogant,” Shaw reflects on the reputation of the Brits abroad. “We are quite a gobbie as a nation,” agreed Mee. “You know, like Benidorm is a little England and that’s not something that I think most of us lot,” she points around the packed out backstage area, “identify with because, we’re kind of the goths and the alternative people, but like, who are we really at our core, you know?”

The pairing of ‘Insubordinate Ingerland’ with ‘American Machine’ is a political juxtaposition, which Mee is clear about. “I think it’s because we spend a lot of time in America and I always say, I don’t hate America, but I don’t like spending time there because I think there’s certain pockets of greatness, but overall I think it is a third world country that masquerades as a first world country. I think, obviously we’ve got quite a lot of attacks from Americans about that song and I’m like, okay, I’ve been to forty states. Like, I’ve been to a lot of that country. I’ve seen it. I’ve traveled. I’ve walked around on my own. I’ve been in bars, I’ve spoken to people, I’ve spoken to locals. And that’s what I’ve taken from it, that it’s a broken system built on capitalism to the max. You know, you’re making money out of sick people. You enjoy going to war because you have an interventionalist policy. For me, I had to write a song to keep it away from it. I don’t want that shit here because the way that our country is moving in terms of privatisation of our healthcare service is a bit of a model based on over there. And I can kind of see that happening slowly. So that’s how we wrote that song: keep it away from us.”

Political tension also powers ‘Ninety Seconds to Midnight’ and ‘Hell Is On It’s Way’, as Shaw tells. “Those two are the ones that look at what’s going on in the Middle East now, what’s going on in Russia and Ukraine. It’s all a bit sketchy. It’s all a bit close. And we’re at an age now where technology is surpassed. You know, we’re way further advanced than we were when World War II was happening. And this is a terrifying time to be alive.” “We’re no man’s land with it,” interjects Mee. Hot Milk constantly bounce off each other, almost finishing each others thoughts.

Shaw continues. “And we can end the earth with one push of a button and we’ve got these people who arguably don’t have the capacity…” “…Because if you’re in power and you’ve got to the top, there’s no way that you can be humanitarian or empathetic because you’ve climbed to the top of politics. And very often that includes treading on people. And I’ve met people in my lifetime that have been very narcissistic and I think that’s what power attracts. And so those people, once they’re in charge, you kidding me? Like it feels scary. And as we get older, these people are also close to our age and I feel like the adults have got no understanding of the world. You’re going to want to go do some mushrooms, quite frankly. People are going to [want to] go and get off their head in the field and go, actually, we need to, and like every day waking up and being like, oh, someone else has attacked someone else, something else has been attacked. Like, someone else is dying. It’s just- “ she catches her breath and looks disgusted. “Can’t be arsed with it. Just shut the fuck up. It’s fucking horrible. Go to the pub. Like, everyone, just calm down. Like, it’s religion as well. We touch upon that in some way on ‘Burn Your Bible’. It’s like you’re saying you’re ‘holier than thou’ but really you’re the ones that perpetrate all the issues.” 

“This album was basically based on fear,” Shaw defines.

This passion and intensity leaks into everything that Hot Milk touch, which Mee acknowledges. “I mean, we are intense people. We’re quite dramatic. I think we come from the school of punk rock. Like, we enjoyed punk bands growing up and so intensity is all we know. You know, so I think going further down the Hot Milk road we just want to bring intensity to the stage. We want people to feel something and we feel it all. So I think that is, you know, it permeates people too.”

“I think we’re also just still learning,” Shaw adds. “We’ve started to do these bigger slots now. We’ve spent the last couple of years like doing the shorter slots on big stages and it’s you treat that half an hour as your billboard and you try and be as intense and in people’s faces as possible. We’re kind of now working out how to bring that into a headline show and we’re trying to slow ourselves down a little bit to give it a bit more ebb and flow. So maybe, you know, looking at the set list at the moment, we’ve already changed it for November just to kind of give ourselves a bit more of a breath because you know, we ain’t getting any-“ he glances at Mee, “-I’m not getting any younger. So, we’re just intense people and it’s just coming across-“ “Quite dramatic.” “Aggressive and dramatic, yeah.” 

The day after Hot Milk’s set, Kneecap will be headlining, a decision which has brought it’s fair share of controversy. “I agree with what they’re saying on a basis of, like, humanity,” argues Mee. “I still don’t believe they have any good songs, personally.” “I think anyone that’s standing -“ “up for what is right, but you know, they are being persecuted and I think in an unfair way. I think it could be done a little bit more intelligently. I mean, I have a politics degree and I kind of come from a place of academia, right? They are standing up for the right thing. I think they’ve got experience as well being in Northern Ireland. By the way, I believe in a unified Ireland. I 100% believe we should have a unification. But you know what? If they’re helping push the needle back in the other direction against an establishment that is clearly funded…”

“I mean, it’s kind of at the point where cards are on the table…” “It’s like, whatever – at least someone’s saying something, right? I don’t know if it’s necessarily my place because I don’t have experience being from fucking Preston. You know what I mean? But they understand it. They have a real experience and so they are kind of great voice pieces. Voice pieces for the issue, but I also still don’t- I mean, this is my own personal reference –  I don’t like the tunes. But that’s all right. That’s personal preference. Yeah, don’t have to. And lots of people don’t like our tunes either. Which is fine.” She shrugs. 

It’s this passion which has attracted so many to Hot Milk, leading to the slogan ‘Hot Milk Is An Emotion’ to become adopted by their ever-growing numbers of fans. “It’s just the reaction that people have had,” says Mee, “And it is an emotion. It’s all of them. It’s feeling every single bit. Anger, sadness. Joy and fear.”

“At the end of the day, we’re just writing from the heart,” Shaw explains, “and writing about what’s in front of us. We’re not trying to siphon off words from someone else. It’s always been like, tossing and wringing…” “…And like, I never want to be someone that didn’t say something. I don’t have a filter at all. I’ll say what’s on my mind and say what I feel. And that’s all we can do in life. I never mean anything bad to anybody. I just want everyone to get on and that.” That’s a philosophy we can all get behind, and two outspoken punks with a remarkable synergy, who put on shows that offer up every ounce of their being, might just be the ones to spread it across the world. 

KATE ALLVEY

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‘Corporation Pop’ is out now on Music For Nations