Album Review: We Are All We've Got by Milpool

Milpool are a punk rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the beginning of April the band released a brand new five track EP on Lemon Tree Records titled We Are All We’ve Got. I stumbled across it one evening whilst looking for new bands on Bandcamp and quickly became a fan of the band.

The EP begins with It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This. This opening track really sets the scene of what to expect from Milpool – melodic, shout-along punk rock with big choruses and lots of hooks. It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This starts out with a guitar riff that not only starts the EP with a lot of energy but builds wonderfully to the vocals. Vocally, Milpool fit somewhere between pop punk and hardcore and it works really well with the tone they’re trying to set. The track is about looking back on old times and wondering how you ended up where you are now. Sitcommunist is a more political song that takes aim at the super rich who don’t help the people that really need it. The line that really stuck out when I listened to the song was “all we’ve got is us and that’s all we need.” Sadly there’s a massive divide in the classes in the entire world and this needs to change. The song is played at a slower tempo than the opener and feels much more passionate and angry. Given the song’s subject, rightly so.

The Perils Of Self Betterment is a more personal song. On the track, the band’s lead singer talks about remembering an old friend and working on bettering yourself in their honour. I really enjoyed the positivity that comes from the track, particularly the chorus of “This world isn't prepared, for what we have in store, we aren't just a family, but so much more.” The penultimate track is titled Bummer Vacation. As you might guess from the song’s title, it’s a pretty sad song about feeling like you don’t belong somewhere. That’s something that I’m sure most of us have felt at some stage or another. The song’s highlight is undoubtedly the fantastic ending with the repetitive chorus and the harmony giving the track a brilliant extra dimension. Last up is Good Game, Let’s Go Eat. Finishing the EP on a positive and inspiring note, this track is about learning from your experiences and becoming a better person because of it. Bringing the tempo back up, Milpool shout out their message in a way that just can’t be ignored. The use of two vocalists is great, adding extra energy to the track and, in the final moments, the repetitive lines of “So I said to myself, be a better man than yesterday” will be ringing in your ears long after the song finishes. A great way to finish the EP.

What I really liked about Milpool was how fresh they feel. I don’t listen to much on the heavier side of punk rock but I really got into We Are All We’ve Got. The energy is infectious and there’s a great deal to either relate to or to inspire you. That’s great song writing.

Stream and download We Are All We've Got on Bandcamp here.

Like Milpool on Facebook here.

This review was written by Colin Clark.