Psychedelic Grunge’s Mad Scientists Tackle AI
Echo Scale™: ★★★✮☆ (3.7)
From the heart of the East Midlands, a musical anomaly has emerged. Bad Milk Blood Robot, a quartet of aging musicians with a knack for making a beautiful racket have carved out a fierce following known as “The Herd” through their chaotic live shows. Their second full-length album, A EYE, is a deep dive into humanity’s messy relationship with technology, and it’s a journey that is as brilliant as it is bewildering. It’s an album that asks a simple question: what happens when four guys who love making loud noises get in a room and think about the future?
Humanity (The Herd)
The album’s opening track is a bold statement, albeit one that doesn’t quite find its footing. Clocking in at nearly seven minutes, this song feels thoroughly boring from a listening viewpoint. While it establishes the band’s sonic intent with its big, dirty bass tone and a real understanding of a static grunge soundscape, it doesn’t quite take the listener on a compelling journey. It’s an undeniable showcase of production mastery that serves as an introduction to a group of clearly talented musicians, even if it feels like a poor song in its own right.
HM2-4XS
Following that, the album presents a very vaguely political spoken-word number. This unconventional interlude runs for a meager 29 seconds with zero musical accompaniment. It’s not a song in any way, but rather a brief narrative piece that sets the tone for what’s to come, serving more as an intro to the next song than a track in itself.
Grooves and Grunge: The Robot Wakes Up
Anxiety
This is more like it! Bad Milk Blood Robot finally starts to play with time signatures and odd sound effects, and a truly cohesive song is born. “Anxiety” is a brilliantly designed track, with its unsettling rhythm serving the song’s name perfectly. This is a masterclass in how a knowledgeable and capable performance can create a tangible atmosphere through timing and dissonant note choices. As you listen, you can’t help but feel that Bad Milk Blood Robot have really done it. Well Done, this is what I wanted from this album, and they’ve delivered.
Man V Machine
This is a clear standout. There’s excellent togetherness and cohesion as a band, both in performance and in songwriting vision. Again, it’s produced really well. With its huge atmosphere and groovy, heavy guitars forming the backbone of a driving, authoritative number, this song is a banger that would definitely be an absolute hit in a live setting. The open instrumental sections really give the song a fullness, as well as some room to breathe, showcasing the clear work of experienced songwriters who understand their influences.
Svenlana
While a cool, well-written song with real depth, “Svenlana” is almost ruined by its intro riff (which comes back to haunt you time and time again). It isn’t an earworm; it’s just an annoying sound that comes close to spoiling what is otherwise a really cool song. The guitar tone is excellent, especially in the softer, more melodic elements, but it’s hard to ignore that it’s punctuated with really grating broken children’s toy noises.
Outsource
A brief, but appreciated, tongue-in-cheek song. There’s something incredibly British about it that you can totally get. This 53-second loop is an indictment of modern society that fits the album’s vibe perfectly.
Choices
My word, this is the best song on the album by an insane distance. “Choices” is a heavy, groovy, and well-produced track with a killer vocal performance to top it all off. This is the one where every member of Bad Milk Blood Robot seems to be at their best, particularly the drummer, who has absolutely nailed the vibe here. It’s a well-written, well-paced, and genuinely fantastic listen.
Rebuild
A slightly more reflective, introspective vibe here. The honest vocals that have been a feature throughout the album return with no pretence, no faked accent, just honesty. While the bass is borderline overwhelming, it still has a great tone and makes for a really cool song.
We are AI
Funky, heavy, batshit mental. Everything you want from Bad Milk Blood Robot. This is a highly detailed song with a lot of moving parts, all executed with precision and character. One thing you can’t help but appreciate is their attention to detail, and the mental picture of them sitting around in a studio being like, “This song is great but what if I loaded up the sound of a robotic goose farting to the midi keyboard? Would that be the cherry on the cake?”
The Future Is…
Again, not so much a song, in fact not a song in any way. This is another spoken-word piece meant to build the album’s world, and once more, it shows a great respect for their attention to detail.
Human (Are You Okay)
I really needed this album to finish strongly. I don’t think it does. This song feels like a restrained, slightly disappointing ending. It seems like it desperately wanted to let loose but never really did. As a final track, it fails to grip me by the balls and show me everything I loved in the songs before it.
In Conclusion
A EYE is not a perfect album, but it is a fascinating and often fantastic one. It’s a journey that begins with a few missteps and meandering interludes, daring you to stick with it. But for those who do, the album’s heart delivers in a spectacular way, showcasing a band that understands atmosphere, groove, and raw energy. The moments where Bad Milk Blood Robot truly fire on all cylinders are nothing short of brilliant, a testament to their seasoned songwriting and audacious creativity. It’s an album that proves the band is at their best when they lean into their unique brand of chaotic, psychedelic grunge.
Ultimately, A EYE is an album for the brave; for fans willing to endure the odd sound or the long drone for a chance to witness something truly special. While it may not always succeed, it succeeds far more often than it fails, leaving no doubt that Bad Milk Blood Robot is a formidable force. They have crafted an album that is complex, rewarding, and a powerful statement on their future. For “The Herd” and for any new listeners, this is a record that shows a band with bold ideas and the talent to see them through.
