By Emily Bontatibus
“V3RM0NT” album art. Photo courtesy of Milk St.
Local Northeast Emo group, Milk St., released their Sophomore album titled “V3RM0NT” just two months ago.
I interviewed the vocalist, guitarist and songwriter of the band, Jonah Wakefield to get some insight into their new album.
“There was a time in my life where I moved out of my parents house and I became my own person,” Wakefield stated, “I was living with my cousin who was more like a brother to me, and for the first time, I felt like I had something really stable in the sense of family.”
The story of the album begins when Wakefield and his cousin took a road trip to Vermont. Shortly after their travels they both took mushrooms for the first time, together, in a pitch black room. Wakefield described the image of his psyche packaging up all of the experiences he had on the road trip, then turning them into the album.
“I turned on a voice recorder as we were coming down and we were just like talking with no ego and with total openness,” said Wakefield, “so I recorded the conversation and spliced it up, and that’s what opens the album.”
The first song on the album, “Of Mushroom and Men”, features the voice memo that Wakefield recorded. While it’s only a minute long, it provides insight into the emotions Wakefield was experiencing as he started to create the album. If listened to closely enough, this prelude to “V3RM0NT” really sets up the audience to experience the album for more than just sound.
Their second most streamed song on the album, “Peyote,” features aggressive and energetic chord progressions on the guitar to open the song. The first lyrics, “He says Peyote can help you see,” sets up the theme of psychedelics that is shown throughout “V3RM0NT.”
A seamless transition between “Peyote” and their third song on the album, “V3RM0NT,” creates continuity. Wakefield sings about gaining his independence once he left home, a realization every generation faces, he just wants to “feel more like a man.” This song includes some hard hitting cymbals and bass drums towards the end to mix up the vibe.
The next two songs, “Pixie Cuts and Angel Dust” and “Jesus Fish Taco,” both feature fast tempos, classic bouncy basslines and strong snares, allowing Milk St. to capture elements of folk music.
My personal favorite song on the album, “I Collect Records (To Cope With My Crippling Mental Illness),” is reminiscent of Lou Reed’s “Walk On the Wild Side.” Slow guitar progressions play over soundscapes as lyrics about coming of age escape Wakefield's mouth. This one is the best, in my opinion, because it’s an outlier. Compared to the fast paced guitar twangs on the rest of the album, “I Collect Records” provides a sort of cool down before the ending.
Though, Milk St. doesn’t hesitate to pick the album right back up where it left off with “Long Ride.” Wakefield screams “we’ll begin to see all the pretty things that aren’t there anymore,” referring to LSD and mushrooms. This song also slows down into halftime as it ends giving listeners a chance to resolve what they absorbed.
The third most streamed song on “V3RM0NT,” “Free Acid,” is a lot to digest. Wakefield sings, “The smoke was just starting to hit my blood as we cruised into Vermont,” tying the whole album together to the theme of Vermont. He then goes on to express, what sounds like a fantasy, about a place where people can live freely. “Free acid from strangers in coffee shops,” Wakefield sings, “and I can be naked when I want.” This is the only song on “V3RM0NT” that features choppy segments of a symphony behind the rest of the band, adding diversity. At the end of “Free Acid,” there’s an ethereal two minute instrumental fade out that leads you to the next track.
“Cycles” is about mental illness and pressure from the outside world to get ahead of the struggles that so much of our generation is bound to face. Wakefield sings, “Tear stains and blood shot eyes from parents who will demonize, and pave way for a fucked up kid, there’s lessons learned from what you did.” This song is both about appreciating the care and warnings from parents and loved ones, but also expressing the anger of this illness that people have no choice to adopt. Though this is one of the mellower songs instrument wise, Wakefield's whiny stacked voice and sharp lyrics convey the urgency of his feelings.
Milk St.’s most streamed song on their album is “China Town.” This is about the come down from the mushroom trip that inspired “V3RM0NT.” Wakefield recounts his trip with more voice memos from that time and relatable lyrics. Switching between concerning phrases like “Please hold my hand right now, I’m falling away,” and lighthearted lyrics like, “I’m tripping balls and that’s okay,” further transports listeners into the trip.
The last lyrics of the album “V3RM0NT” are a nod to Jack Johnson’s famous song, “Upside Down.” Wakefield finally comes to his senses from the comedown and recaps the gifts he was given during the mushroom trip. “Upside down, we’ll find the things they say just can’t be found,” Wakefield sings, “I’ll share this love I found with everyone. We’ll sing and dance to Mother nature’s songs. Is this how it’s supposed to be.”
Overall, the more I listened to this album the more I began to connect with it. Milk St. conveys topics of drugs, independence and love that are so prevalent right now in this generation. Wakefield is able to express his ego death vividly through the album and takes the audience along with him. “V3RM0NT” should be a huge success for Maine’s local music scene.
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