From Colne in Lancashire, the Milltown Brothers first burst onto the indie scene in 1989 with the ‘Coming From The Mill EP’ getting single of the week in NME.

Second indie single ‘Which Way Should I Jump’ started a bidding war between the majors.

Signing to A&M worldwide in 1990, WWSIJ was re-recorded & broke into the UK charts at Number 38. America liked it & put it to Number 10 in the Billboard US Rock Chart.

The album – Slinky – was a revelation and pushed the boundaries for their peers. Defying the critics who had incorrectly labelled them as baggy the MBs delivered an absolute classic album of catchy, punchy songs, perfectly paced & well-balanced.

The album received a maximum 5 Stars in Q Magazine.

Unfortunately, the follow-up single to WWSIJ, ‘Here I Stand’, peaked at 41 despite a high mid-week chart position, effectively denying the band a chance to appear on TOTP.  Gallup, the official chart compiler, weighted heavy sales in the home region of the North West against national figures and, as a result, adjusted overall sales down thus knocking the song back on the UK chart.  This, after the song had been A-listed on Radio One; having been loved by the critics.  There was some redemption for ‘Here I Stand’, when it was selected as the theme tune for the hit BBC 1 series All Quiet on The Preston which ran for three successful series in the mid and late 1990s.

A&M prevaricated and despite new material being ready for release that year – they put the band ‘on the shelf’ for 2 years and eventually picked the songs for their 2nd studio album – ‘Valve’. The album fared less well than Slinky, receiving average reviews.  The eventual song choice for Valve could be questioned and time has since shown that a dynamite second album could have been released; had the band been allowed to go their own way.  After years of contractual exile, a tour which received no advertising & singles released which the band did not even want on an album – the band walked from A&M.

It took 10 years for the band to work together again and in March 2004, they released their third studio album – Rubberband.  Critically-acclaimed & a fine return to form, Rubberband came out on their own label and was made available via the website at http://www.milltownbrothers.co.uk.   Playing to their strengths, it once more demonstrated their head for melody, band dynamics and song writing.  Described in Record Collector as ‘a faultless third album’, it is an underestimated album and perhaps deserved better among in the clamour of guitar-driven indie bands of the mid noughties.

After a further lengthy hiatus, the band returned to the studio in 2014, releasing their self-financed forth studio album, ‘Long Road’, the following year.  Q liked it and awarded three stars with the record receiving significant levels of media acclaim: XSNoise gave an 8/10 review observing that: “Long Road is a mature entry illuminated throughout by the experiences of life. It is earnest and heartfelt as it highlights the little things in life that make it special and a life worth living. It is a lovely collection of songs worthy of a lulling Sunday morning in the summer.”  Louder than War went further awarding 8.5/10 stating: “Perhaps Long Road is an album that could see The Milltown Brothers repeat their huge success in Europe and Japan… Perhaps The Milltown Bothers have just released one of the most perfect guitar-led, Indie albums of the year.”

‘Stockholm’, a fifth studio album, followed in 2020.  Again, the record received strong reviews with, for example, Backseat Mafia saying: “literally, it is one of our favourite records of the year”.   Gigs were lined up on its release but, unfortunately, Covid 19 had other ideas and the band were not to return to the stage until August 2023 with a sold-out banger at the Hebden Bridge Trades Club.

This Hebden Bridge show also enabled the band to promote a Cherry Red supported compilation of pre-A&M singles and demos entitled ‘Tongue-Tied Mesmerised’ released at the end of 2022.  ‘A Lot Like Love’ was also showcased and the song will appear on the Indie Citizens Volume II compilation of Manchester and North West bands available from November 2023.

Recent activities have inspired the band to commit to more live shows with Kanteena in Lancaster booked for 25^thNovember 2023 and an already sold-out show at the Barnoldswick Music and Arts centre in the diary.  Plans are in place for the Milltown Brothers to play a number of gigs in early 2024 with a view to securing festival slots for the summer.  The band is also in negotiation with Universal for the re-pressing and re-mastering of Slinky to coincide with the planned gig schedule of 2024.  It is hoped that the new vinyl- only version of Slinky (Slinky+) will include at least two extra tracks and a limited-edition boxset with additional features.  Watch this space.