Hot Mulligan – The Sound a Body Makes When It's Still
Michigan five-piece Hot Mulligan firmly mark their territory as the spearheading leaders of the Midwest emo revolution
Hot Mulligan and the emo resurgence go together like a checked flannel shirt and beaten-up Vans. Fronting the genre’s uptick, the band's embracing of twanging, capo-clipped guitars with fast-cutting riffs, and co-vocalists locked in a shouting match between cleans and screams has seen them cultivate the craft to new levels. Now they're marking their territory as modern scene leaders.
The Sound a Body Makes When It's Still swaths on a thick, glossy coat of production that's still translucent enough not to mask their bare-knuckled DIY aesthetic. Lurking behind silly song names like It Smells Like Fudge Axe in Here and Monica Lewinskibidi lies brutally honest lyricism on self-existentialism, loneliness, and the consequences of our choices, delivered through Tades Sansville’s now-synonymous vocal-chord-shredding shrieks. These themes of inner turmoil dance over bouncy tracks like And a Big Load, Bon Jonah, and Island in the Sun and encapsulate the beautiful irony of Hot Mulligan’s signature sound – it’s emo music that often sounds, well, joyful.
While TSABMWIS doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel, it's another collection of consistently hook-heavy, happy-clappy choruses, and belt-along lines that continues their trend of honing the fine emo craft and marks Hot Mulligan as a band atop the genre.
Listen To: And a Big Load, Island in the Sun, Cream of Wheat of Feet Naw Cream of (Feat)