Originally released on Steep Gloss
steepgloss.bandcamp.com/album/milk-cant-die
Review from On the Fringes of Sound-
Another solidly bizarre release from the UK-based Steep Gloss label, Mold Omen crafts some of the most unsettling soundscapes heard on tape. Opening up with “Gloom Operator,” a track that starts with an odd chirping squeal and evolves into harsh noise with an accompanying thumping sound, the schizophrenic mood of the EP is established.
Moving into the next track, “Dyatlov Hall Pass,” the harsh noise continues until the end when “Helium” picks up. With this and the next three tracks, the noise remains although it takes a quieter, yet somehow more sinister tone throughout. The final track, “Egg in 1505,” ramps this tension up with scraping strings and a thumping that almost resembles a heartbeat going into severe arrhythmia. Milk Can’t Die is a stellar example of the material that Steep Gloss specializes in.
Review from Foxy Digitalis (!!!)-
I think Mold Omen is the only band – at least that I’m aware of – to exist because of Foxy Digitalis. The duo comprised of Andy Livingston and Mike Pursley met when they were both writing for the previous incarnation of the site and a decade later, they’re still cranking out the jams. On Milk Can’t Die, the duo get weird as hell. On opener “Gloom Operator,” synthetic bleeps and blips devolve into ritualistic crunching jams and sonic space debris. It’s got a real paranoid vibe to it. “Helium Kit” skirts that snarling, blasted-out line well, but ultimately is the sound of a computerized orchestra dying while living its best life. Horror soundtracks get extolled and eulogized on “Animal Mapping,” an ugly dichotomy of churning metal flesh and fuzzed-out drones. It’s pretty great, honestly, but it certainly won’t make you feel good. Mold Omen manage to sound like their name would imply, impressively. I don’t think anything good is going to come from Milk Can’t Die because it feels downright possessed, but that’s what will keep me coming back for more.
released June 22, 2021