LIVE REVIEW: Milo Greene

By Hollie Jones

When our writer Chandra was lucky enough to catch California’s Milo Greene in New York back in October I was insanely jealous. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to catch Milo Greene play their first London show, which followed the UK release of their debut, self-titled album on Monday.

For those not familiar with Milo Greene, they are not one but five. Milo Greene was the name of the band’s fictional booking agent, a man created to help them bag gigs when they were starting out. In an interview with The Guardian, the band described Milo Greene as “British. He wears a three-piece-suit. He wears a monocle. He’s albino. He has chops, sideburns. He’s confident, charming, well-read, well-spoken. He’s a gentlemen, the kind of guy we all aspire to be.”

While Milo Greene are often written about in the context of folk-pop, what I heard was a mixed bag: ethereal dream pop swirls, classic rock guitar solos, eerie xylophone melodies, rich, folky four-part harmonies combining the smooth, the sweet, the rich and the gravelly and my personal favourite: hand claps (see ‘1957’). The band combined songs from their album, with newer material and two spectacular covers: Wilco’s ‘A Shot in the Arm’ and Sufjan Stevens ‘Chicago’.

As a Secret Sound Shopper; a sucker for live music in a bizarre location,  I was excited about the venue, St Pancras Old Church. I entered the small Church to find the rows of seats already filled and the room warmly lit by tea light candles. The intimate, yet cavernous venue provided the perfect acoustics for acapella vocals in soft, folk style songs such as ‘Son My Son’ and ‘Cutty Love’ and more up beat numbers such as ‘Don’t You Give Up On Me’ were embellished by the theatrical shadows of each band member, dancing on the Church walls. My appreciation for the venue was shared by Milo Greene’s, Robbie Arnett: “This is our first time playing in a Church. I couldn’t be more excited about it, it’s so rad” – side note, Robbie Arnett your shirt was rad. And so was your jacket.

When so many musicians are experimenting with multi-instrumentalism, it is incredibly exciting to see a band carry out the practice well. Milo Greene are one of these bands, and on Wednesday night conducted what Andrew Heringer described as a “musical Chinese fire drill” throughout the set, with 4 of the 5 band members switching guitar, bass, uke keys and percussion duties. Not only was it impressive, it enabled Milo Greene establish themselves as a collective embellishing the band’s warm on stage chemistry, which was at its strongest as the band gathered closely in a semi-circle to perform ‘Silent Way’.

It is this on stage chemistry that makes Milo Greene so special, and while I am a big fan of the album, their live show is even better.

If you’re lucky enough to be in England right now, you still have time to catch Milo Greene on tour:

January 25 – Manchester, Castle Hotel
January 26 – Ireland, Dublin, Whelans (free show)
January 28 – Glasgow, King Tuts
January 29 – Leeds, Brudenell
January 30 – Brighton, Green Door Store