Debut albums tend to dictate how we see bands for a long time after their release, even if the reality is slightly different. Sum 41 are still considered a pop punk band despite the fact that for every ‘Fat Lip’ there is a ‘We’re All To Blame’, for each ‘Hell Song’ a ‘Screaming Bloody Murder’, to cite one example. Hot Mulligan have released a couple of promising emo EPs but have transitioned to an emo/pop punk crossover in the style of Taking Back Sunday for their first full length release, a mostly successful move that will attract a lot of new fans and perhaps define their sound over the coming years.
Their previous offering ‘Opportunities’ was re-released with acoustic track ‘Deluxe Capacitor’ recently, and ‘Pilot’ opens with a revitalised electric version of the same song before really kicking into gear (pun intended) with the confusingly titled ‘All You Wanted By Michelle Branch’, a much more accomplished track that outstrips its classic pop namesake. You can read a eulogy to it here.
‘Pilot’ has a number of songs that struggle to cut through and stick in the memory. ‘The Soundtrack To Missing A Slam Dunk’ stands out more for its infectious melodies than the generic story of a jilted young lover, and ‘Pluto Was Never Really A Planet Either Even’ takes us back to their emo roots with a noticeably softer opening and another unnecessarily overblown title. There is distinctive percussion on ‘Wes Dault Can’t Find The Madison Falcon’ as well as an earworm lyric of “Maybe I’m not pretty enough for this”, but by the time ‘*whispers* Thank You’ finishes it’s hard to escape the feeling that you’ve heard the same song several times with slightly altered compositions.
Thankfully ‘Scream Mountain’ comes along at the right time with sincere lyrics that appeal to even the most cynical of us and an interesting structure featuring a genuinely excellent melody that could conceivably be called a chorus. This all builds to an acoustic, campfire style group sing along that is the unqualified high point of the second half of ‘Pilot’. The angsty mush returns for the last couple of songs, although the use of synth alongside a fiddly lead guitar towards the end of ‘How Do You Know It’s Not Armadillo Shells’ is a fun introduction.
It’s been hard to avoid the excitement around Hot Mulligan recently, and while ‘Pilot’ occasionally justifies the hype, it mostly leaves the impression that this is a band capable of more. ‘All You Wanted By Michelle Branch’ shows a band with the ability to to create scene defining songs and potentially even cross into the mainstream, but this brilliance is too infrequent for the Michigan four-piece to be considered anything more than one to watch in future.
PAUL HAZELL