Fightmilk – No Souvenirs: Album Review

By John Barlass on 3rd December 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

South London power pop combo Fightmilk test out new opportunities on their 3^rd album, No Souvenirs.

Release Date: 15^th November 2024

Label: Fika Recordings/ INH Records

Formats: CD / Vinyl / Digital

Formed in 2015 in a Brixton pub garden, Fightmilk are: Lily (vocals & guitar), Alex (guitar & vocals), Healy (bass & vocals) and Nick (drums & vocals). Lily and Alex had both, separately, just been dumped and thought that being in an angry punk band would cheer them up. Not that I’d ever describe Fightmilk as an ‘angry punk band,’ necessarily; whilst there is, undoubtedly, the requisite dustings of rage and anguish in their songs, there’s also a whole load of joy and humour, and their music is tight, disciplined and often melodic.

album #3 – versatile and accomplished

No Souvenirs is Fightmilk’s third album – it follows their 2018 debut, Not With That Attitude and, more recently, their acclaimed 2021 follow-up, Contender. Amongst her influences, songwriter and lead vocalist Lily lists the likes of Jimmy Eat World, Alicia Bognanno (aka Bully), Natalie Foster of Australian punk band Press Club and Marisa Dabice, frontperson of American indie rockers Mannequin Pussy. And as for her songwriting, Lily has this to say: “Lyrically, I always look to Bruce Springsteen for inspiration but I also really enjoy the angsty candour of Sour by Olivia Rodrigo and Kacey Musgraves’ impeccable one-liners.”

For No Souvenirs, Fightmilk have moved (slightly) away from the Britpop sound that was starting become their stock-in-trade, to embrace a punkier, heavier vibe, but No Souvenirs doesn’t just stop there; they’ve taken the opportunity to conduct a few genre experiments, and the result is a diverse album that, alongside the power pop that probably dominates, it’s possible to detect the sixties strains of The Beatles and The Honeycombs, the sophisticated yacht-rock of Fleetwood Mac, melodic Yo La Tengo-inspired indie rock and Seattle grunge. Fightmilk are a versatile and accomplished bunch.

acknowledging the influences

An intro that acknowledges The Sex Pistols and The Who slides into the bright, poppy, punchy theme of opening track, Summer Bodies. The band’s humour is evident from the outset in lyrics like “If I cut off my hair, if I suck in my gut, if I dress for my shape… Maybe I’ll be enough” (we’ve all been there, don’t worry…). It’s a well-constructed song and I particularly like Healey’s busy, clanky bassline.

Lily nominates the chorus of That Thing You Did – a grinding, chugging rocker that, to my ear at least, comes from the same stable as The Undertones’ Teenage Kicks – as her favourite on the album, an earworm, even, and she’s got a point. It’s soaring and full of glory, and the Joe Meek organ sound is a nice touch, too. The band credit the sound achieved on Canines as being inspired by The Strokes and Neu!

It’s another bright slice of power pop, with a tight, crisp, drumbeat, an intriguing, discordant, guitar solo, a great vocal from Lily and more excellent lyrics – “I got bit by a dog a dog, so they gave me a shot – it was a cry for help, but now it’s not” and “It’s not your fault you’re upset – you need to go to the vet” are a long, long way from any kind of “moon” and “June” mush.

punky, poppy

The punky, rhythmic Back From Tour was, apparently, “heavily influenced by long-term friends Johnny Foreigner.” The guitars are – almost literally – electrifying and, even when the song eventually pauses for breath, it isn’t for very long at all. And, whilst the first few bars of Yearning and Pining might suggest that we’re in for a light pop interlude, it isn’t long before it becomes a furiously punky assault, albeit one with tuneful vocals, performed by a highly-disciplined band. And Fightmilk use the same model for Banger #7, initially the most poppily accessible song yet, until the cacophonous chorus kicks in with its raucous drums, howling guitars and lily’s thoroughly impassioned vocals.

No Souvenirs, the album’s title track, was inspired by the 10^th anniversary of the death of a close friend. Lily elaborates: “It had taken me that long to write about it in a way I felt OK with. But I realized that I couldn’t have written it before. I needed that distance, and that maturity, to be able to articulate those feelings. It feels to me now like the album is about scorched earth, moving on, taking nothing with you for the next ‘thing’ – and realizing that getting older is a privilege.” Unsurprisingly, No Souvenirs is an intense song, with the intensity magnified by Nick’s thunderous drums.

a bit of counting crows

“You could probably make a case for Inferno having a bit of Counting Crows to it,” says guitarist Alex, “But we were never writing to emulate.” The song is, indeed, in sharp contrast to much of the rest of No Souvenirs; thoroughly melodic, with a rich, intense vocal from Lily, laid-back guitars and more tasty organ licks to fill in any gaps. Close your eyes and it’s possible to imagine that it’s Christine McVie that’s singing!

Bass and drums provide a rock-solid foundation for the grungy, riffing guitars of My Best Me, before Eating For Two recalls the sizzling punk of 1977. Lily’s lyrics have the biting cynicism of Toyah, and she spits them out with all the punk assuredness of Faye Fife. And, as with Inferno, the genre experimentation of the Yo La Tengo-inspired Paddling Pool is another resounding success. Masterfully produced and faultlessly performed, it’s easy, melodic and relaxed, and it demonstrates – to anyone who may have any doubts remaining – that Fightmilk are much, much more than a power pop generating machine.

And Fightmilk solve the quandary of how to conclude an album of such variety and potential by choosing 30, a slow-building ballad that bursts into vibrant colour and joyful relief with chiming lead guitar and a grungy rhythm riff, before every “I’m so glad to be 30” chorus. It’s the perfect closing track to a wholly enjoyable album.

Watch the official video to Yearning &Pining, a track from the album, here: