Milk Maid

Milk Maid

Milk Maid is a Manchester, United Kingdom group built around songwriter Martin Cohen, with Adam Carless and Ian Hodson completing the line-up. Cohen is an ex-bassist of Nine Black Alps, and the band develops from the Manchester music scene with a DIY approach at its core.

Sound and approach

The group works with Cohen writing and recording everything in his flat, which gives the project a lo-fi, home-recorded character. Its style combines laid-back guitar, heavily distorted vocals, swirling melodies and a blend of light and dark elements. The band is associated with indie, noise pop, folk and indie pop, and Cohen is also linked with the “slacker” tag and comparisons to Guided By Voices, Kurt Vile and Woods.

Early releases and label history

Milk Maid first appears on Jack Cooper’s label Suffering Jukebox, which releases the 7-inch single Such Fun/Can’t You See in 2010. The band then signs to FatCat Records and releases its debut album Yucca in 2011. That album is recorded in Cohen’s flat and reflects the period when he begins writing songs after time becomes available during Nine Black Alps’ indefinite hiatus.

Live profile and radio sessions

The band builds attention through live performances and appearances alongside Wild Nothing, Mazes, Titus Andronicus, Crocodiles and Male Bonding. It also records sessions for the BBC with Marc Riley and at Maida Vale with Huw Stephens, which contributes to its profile as a band to watch.

Yucca

Yucca features pop hooks set against dark lyrics dealing with disintegrating relationships and emotional conflict. The record is notable for Cohen’s control over the writing, instrumentation and production, and for the contrast between its melodic surface and its heavier lyrical content.