The facts of strife

But if the subject of Milburn’s comeback single What Will You Do (When The Money Goes)? does realise he’d better take cover, because it looks like Sheffield’s arguably most misunderstood band is about to land its first major hit.

Okay, let’s not get carried away. We/they have been here before. But there’s something different about the four young men preparing to release their second album.

It’s not the stubble or even their change of rehearsal address. They have a demeanour that says ‘been here before’, but this time it comes with a footnote: “We’re ready for the b******s”.

You see, These Are The Facts – the album that follows a week after the September 17-released single – was conceived in anger, born of bile and raised with justice as a parent. It’s not quite retribution, but it sees Joe Carnall at his most lyrically jagged. As the title suggests, part two is about setting the record straight for those who didn’t quite get it right before.

“There’s lot of angry sounds in there,” confirms Joe, who put Cambridge Uni on ice to continue fronting Milburn. “This is us venting our frustration. The first album was a success in terms of Sheffield but didn’t do it nationally. It didn’t do what it could have done. And we knew early on; in every interview or review the same story cropped up and that led us to the second album. We wanted songs we get recognised for; that’s the motivation.”

He’s talking, of course, about the Arctic Monkey’s association, or rather the negative effect it had on childhood pals Milburn.

Whatever your musical allegiances, you’ve got to feel for Joe, brother Louis, Tom Rowley and Joe Green, landing a record deal having played together since they were 14 only to be slated as Arctics rip-offs by certain quarters.

Every band takes its chances out there, but the idea of ‘the good will out’ only runs true so far in these days of the poisonous online forum. And Milburn suffered badly at the fingers of their cyber detractors as well as the critics. It didn’t help that they toured with Alex Turner and co in the early days.

“It was a double-edged sword, for sure,” says Joe, acknowledging the association initially raised their profile before back-firing commercially.

“If a band out of Liverpool does well and then another comes out of Liverpool and does well it is celebrated. If one comes out of Sheffield and then another does it’s like ‘is that all you got?’ and you don’t get a break. The public had so much enthusiasm, but then you’d got the musos and journalists who made people’s minds up and gave them a bad impression. I am convinced, if we’d be given the chance...”

It’s no wonder Facts is something of a fresh start, then.

“We don’t want to be accused of being dictated to, but it was great moving away from the old stuff. We'd been around seriously for three years and what happened spurred us on.

"We wrote quickly; we wanted to prove people wrong as soon as we possibly could so we've done two albums in a year. This is all about putting it right. This time we know what to expect."

Whatever the spark, it has worked. Facts has venom, passion and a rawness that was lost in places before. And Radio 1 is playing Money... in the daytime having been Jo Wiley's record of the week.

Joe confirms the track was inspired by one particular southerner, but won't give names. "Because of the environment we've been in you see the workings of people, so the first line asks whether we would be friends if we'd not met through this." It gives a good flavour of the rest. "Yes, this album is a proper two finger salute some of the time, with the fingers turned round the other way on some soppy stuff."

Facts saw Milburn capturing some of the initial spirit of their band by re-employing omnipresent Sheffield producer Alan Smyth; the same man who made the Arctics' famous first demos and limited issue single.

Again, it prompts an awkward 'what if'.

"When we did our first demo it was at the exact same time Arctic Monkeys did Dancefloor. Maybe if we had just done those demos and sent them off to radio we might have had that head start.

"Fact is, though, we knew Arctic Monkeys before we were in bands together and in this city if you are friends with people you stay friends with people."

Not surprisingly Joe says they wanted Facts out ASAP but is glad they've got September, not least as a certain other act is abroad.

"There's clear water between us and a Monkeys release as they've gone out of the British eye," he confirms. "That said, they'll probably go and do something the same day now. If they do I won't speak to them again."

Milburn

follow their recent Sheffield flood benefit sell-out at The Leadmill with another full house there on September 28. They also play The Octagon on November 29.