MILLY Share Cover of “Not a Friend” By Sebadoh + ‘The Freed Milly’ Out June 2nd May 31, 2023
Today, Los Angeles slowcore trio MILLY have announced The Freed MILLY (out June 2nd via Dangerbird Records), a 3-song Sebadoh tribute EP that sports the legend Lou Barlow’s own distinctive hand-drawn text in the cover art. They’ve shared their version of “Not A Friend,” imbuing the original with their signature blend of grunge and shoegaze.
First conceived as a solo project by Connecticut-based songwriter Brendan Dyer, since relocating to LA, Milly’s lineup has solidified around Dyer and core collaborators Yarden Erez & Conner Frankel. After supporting DIIV and Swervedriver on national tours, the band’s debut album Eternal Ring was released last year to critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, AV Club, NPR and more, who praised their refreshingly original take on 90’s classics.
On the EP, Dyer explains, “The decision behind covering 3 Sebadoh songs was due to how important of a band they are to me. Their discography is huge and there are true golden gems on each record. It was no easy task to narrow it down to just 3 selections but we went with 2 from ‘Bakesale’ and one deep cut from ‘Bubble & Scrape’ which is an album I got heavily into later on in my relationship with Sebadoh. I feel like it used to be so common that bands would cover each other’s material and just toss those recordings out on a 7 inch. I was trying to bring back the spirit of that with this project. We loaded our gear into the studio for 2 days and just did everything live with minimal overdubs. It was the first time we’ve recorded that way and it’s something that I always wanted to try out. It was also our first time in the studio as a 3 piece and we wanted to test the waters on how that would go. We think it worked out quite well. Sebadoh have remained heroes for musicians like us for years at this point and we feel proud to carry on the torch.”
Praise for MILLY:
“a blend of the woozy, guitar-driven vulnerability of Swervedriver and the noise-laden introspection of Nineties post-hardcore trailblazers Hum — yet without the overly reductive inauthenticity that plagues the seemingly endless stream of bands chasing down a 21st century version of the shoegaze sound.” –
Rolling Stone
“a band that fuses the wall-of-guitar sounds of Hum and Catherine with early emo like Sunny Day Real Estate and minimalist beauty à la Belly, resulting in a warm bath of fuzzed-out indie rock that nonetheless balances the riffing with gentler moments of airy shoegaze” – AV Club
“Meeting at the midpoint between shoegaze and ’90s-style alt-rock, “Talking Secret” lets torrents of guitars overwhelm bandleader Brendan Dyer’s hazily moody vocals” – NPR
“Crawling tempos and dazed, cinematic lo-fi… a band to watch” – Paste Magazine
“impeccable alternative influences, a towering instrumental presence, and an expressive main songwriter already point to a bright future for the band.” – Under the Radar
“a soundscape both comforting and abrasive” – Beats Per Minute
“A fuzz-laden jammer that re-envisages J Mascis at the head of a dream pop outfit” – Clash