MILLENCOLIN
True Brew
(Epitaph)
Millencolin, bless them, have never been the most original of bands. The Swedish quartet have freely admitted that, in the early days, they were huge NOFX fanboys who just wanted to sound as much like their heroes as possible. Fast forward a couple of decades, and they now often resemble Sweden’s answer to Bad Religion; be it in the oohs -n’-ahhs backing vocals, the gloriously melodic buzzsaw guitars, or vocalist/bassist Nikola Sarcevic’s willingness to open lyrical fire on society’s ills (check out the video for excellent anti-racism anthem ‘Sense & Sensibility’ below).
And you know what? It really doesn’t matter, especially when Millencolin continue to write smart, addictive songs as well as they do here. Whilst the band have hardly been slouching at home in the seven years since so-so previous record ‘Machine 15’, the time away has definitely done them plenty of good; the likes of the title track and ‘Chameleon’ see them sounding more fired-up than they’ve been in a decade, and the majority of the record measures up well against old classics like ‘No Cigar’ and ‘Bullion’.
Ultimately, True Brew sees Millencolin returning to their roots in damn fine style. Let’s drink to that.
Alex Gosman