Youthful Manchester Quartet Gear Up For Debut EP
“One of our main aims in creating these songs was to make people turn away and think, “Okay, these guys are good, but I have no idea what their next release is going to be like”,” says Matt Clarke, vocalist of fresh-faced Manchester pop-rock quartet Milestones, discussing his band’s sparkling debut E.P, Equal Measures; “Whilst it’s obvious we’ve taken some massive influences from bands like Neck Deep and You Me At Six, but I don’t think we isolate our sound like a lot of the new pop-punk bands around at the moment might. We feel we’ve left so much room for growth in our sound. It’s not as easy to do that, but I hope people appreciate the diversity our record has, whilst still offering up the catchy hooks and melodic leads that pop punk and alternative rock are renowned for.”
Averaging an age of just 18 (17 when they wrote and recorded Equal Measures in 2014, with former Bring Me The Horizon / now All Time Low sound guy Phil Gornell), Milestones – completed by guitarist Andy Procter, bassist Mark Threlfall and drummer Andy Makin – have meticulously constructed five songs that positively belie their young age and relative inexperience; Equal Measures is the glorious, compelling sound of raw, natural talent put to the test, tracks such as the title track and anthemic new single ‘Nothing Left’ offering up simple but soaring melodies that tingle the nape of your neck and leave you totally hooked.
“As for any band, of course this E.P feels like a huge accomplishment to us, but already we’re set to outdoing ourselves on the next record, because that’s the kind of people we all are,” explains Matt of Milestones’ creative workhorse dynamic; “We just want to have fun doing something we love, however cliché that sounds and will work really hard to do it…No pain, no gain! To put passion into actual hard graft requires a serious group ethos, and it’s something everyone in Milestones, and anyone we’ve worked with, shares in common.” And with regard to how their age comes into play? “I think being young has its benefits and drawbacks, but we hope people will look at our age and give us a chance, because we like to think we have a mature sound, not to mention a more mature approach to learning and adapting to problems as a unit than our age may suggest. I believe it’s vital for us to pay our dues and really earn ourselves a good reputation, but so far so good.”
The future is already looking bright, with debut single ‘More To Me’ already having notched up close to 5,000 views. Though this is just the very beginning of what should prove a long and creatively prosperous career, Equal Measures is without a doubt a milestone for Milestones.
Equal Measures Track Listing:
1. More To Me | 2. Equal Measures | 3. Nothing Left | 4. Counterweight |
5. Sleepless Nights Are Put To Bed
Currently Announced Live Dates:
February Tour (w/ Yeah Detroit!)
17th February – Manchester, Sound Control
18th February – Derby, The Vic Inn
19th February – Liverpool, Maguires Pizza Bar
20th February – Bridlington, The Londesborough
21st February – Edinburgh, Studio 24
17th May – Sheffield, The Hop (Empire Festival)
Equal Measures is released on April 6th, 2015
Lead track ‘More To Me’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjqx6ioR01w
More info: https://www.facebook.com/MilestonesUK | www.milestonesuk.bandcamp.com
