Millpool aren’t just another guitar band. Channelling the intricate, driving grooves of Slint, the hard-blowing saxophone melodies of Shabaka Hutchings and yearning, full-throated vocals of Fugazi, the London-based group have been making a name for themselves as an outfit to keep an eye on in London’s’ buzzing alternative rock circuit. Following the release of ‘High Speed Pursuit’ & ‘Solstice’ which gained tastemaker support from Deb Grant & Huey Morgan (BBC 6 Music), Resident Advisor, Refuge Radio, and a run of live gigs supporting Sans Froid, The Eurosuite, Repo Man & more the quartet now lift the lid on their debut EP ‘One Last Midnight’, due for release in October via XVI Records. The EP was recorded, mixed and mastered by Misha Hering (known for his work with High Vis, Virginia Wing & more) at Holy Mountain Studios. First track ‘High Speed Pursuit’ melds introspective lyricism and well-honed instrumental tightness, as thundering bass grooves, frenetic drumming, ripping saxophone and roaring vocals send the listener careering down the mountain of madness at terminal velocity. Harnessing the raw power of their live show, ‘Solstice’ summons off kilter riffs channeled through Sunn valve amplifiers, saturated, frenzied drumming and impassioned lyrics about the fear of ascension. Intense, urgent and precarious, the track teeters on the edge of the collapse, grabbing the listener in a chokehold from the jump.

Chugging guitar riffs and peals of screaming vocals blend with muscular saxophone lines to produce three-and-a-half minutes of thunderous force on “The Wind”. Veering from vocalist Joshua Byrne’s impressionistic lyrics on solitude to saxophonist Alejandro Van-Zandt Escobar’s hard-blowing phrases, bassist Duncan Little’s rock-steady rhythm and Ammar Kalia’s blasting drumming, “The Wind” is Millpool’s infectious and immediate live presence distilled. Blending introspective spoken word poetry with downtempo atmospherics and yearning melody, EP title track “One Last Midnight” is post-hardcore quartet Millpool at their most tender and affecting. Beautifully interweaving featured poet Jason Sunsea’s poignant and expressive verses on the quiet moments of intimacy with an undulating groove, the track swells and bursts through emotive dynamics, showcasing a newly enveloping side to the quartet’s typically punchy sound.