By Ky Kasselman and Angela Smith
MILKK is an upcoming three-piece pop group that describe themselves as an “emo boy-band” based out of Nashville, TN. Members consist of Pat Kiloran on vocals and keys, John Ogelby on drums, and Jack Vondrachek on guitar. Breaking onto the scene with “Pacific Kiss” and “IDWK” in May and September of 2017, MILKK started to build a following through their social media presence. Today, the band re-released a bigger and better version of their single “Less Than 3,” which many fans already adored from their previous release.
Our Heart Eyes contributor Angela Smith said “I found myself able to appreciate the nostalgic, yet hopeful mood of the lyrics,” about the track. “The lines ‘No I don’t believe in bad love / Oh I know that you’re enough’ are uplifting and really make you think about those you hold close in your life. These lyrics paired with the melodic composition of the song itself really do fit with the aesthetic MILKK has built. The soft drums and synth-pop gives a nice contrast of a happy tune with nostalgic lyrics.” Smith later said, “I am incredibly excited to see where the rest of MILKK’s upcoming releases go, and I can’t wait till they start playing live shows.”
I had the opportunity to sit down with Pat Kiloran to talk about the new single and the direction in which MILKK is headed. “When we first released the song, our label [Good Time Records] asked us to take it down, because it had the potential to be much bigger and better,” Kiloran said. “Now, the mix is different, the master is different, not drastically, but just a little bigger. There’s new artwork with it to cohesively bring on the new vibe.” Kiloran said that this release is still a ramp up for the band, and they hope it does well in order to generate hype for future releases. “I know people liked it a lot the first time, and now there’s a good chunk of people who haven’t heard it, so we’re excited,” Kiloran said.
One of the things MILKK has done best is built their social media following. Kiloran explained that having people that actually care a lot about the work they are doing is so important to the band. Because of this, the band is known for putting up demos of new songs for a limited time, releasing limited merch, or sending buttons and stickers to people who retweet a tweet or post on their Instagram. “Whenever we put out a new song, we see growth, and whenever we do things like that, we see growth. When we can create a little bit of buzz and excitement in that moment, it draws people in.” Kiloran said this is beneficial to both the band and the fanbase, as there is a personal relationship between the two. “Word of mouth is so important, and this basically is word of mouth,” Kiloran said about growing their audience on social media. Kiloran said that they want their followers to know that they care about them, and like to do so by having conversations on social media and hosting giveaways in return for something seemingly small, like a retweet. However, that one retweet might attract ten new people to MILKK’s twitter profile, creating potential for new fans.
“Less Than 3” is available everywhere now. Be sure to follow MILKK on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at @wearemilkk.