Hot Milk - Corporation P.O.P | Album Reviews

Corporation P.O.P

Artist: Hot Milk

Genre: Alternative, Rock

Record Label: Music For Nations

Release Date: 27 June 2025

Hot Milk’s second album ‘Corporation P.O.P’ is out now via Music for Nations. This 14-track album was produced by Hot Milk’s own Jim Shaw alongside Zach Jones and KJ Strock, recorded fully analogue and with the live show in mind, they created this incredible think-piece of an album that will not only get people to think about the current political situation but also provide some emotional support and make fans feel less alone while being frustrated at the system. Their Manchester pride shows throughout this album while they criticise the political landscape that our generation is facing, mixing their distinctive heavy rock sound with hints of club music and rage-filled screams.

(How Do I) Make The Devil Fall Asleep starts with a strong riff-filled instrumental that builds, setting the tone for the album. It sounds almost like it could be in a rock opera, before Han Mee’s softer vocals come in, then contrasted with Jim’s stronger vocals. A commentary on how the outside world and everything happening affects your mental health: ‘You can’t rely on lullabies when evil lives outside’, ‘Help me out of the dark, is it too late to make the devil fall asleep?’.

A Manchester train announcement leads us into the next track, INSUBORDINATE INGERLAND. This song is more upbeat with a focus on British humour and drinking culture. Showcasing how you can be proud of where you are from, even if you don’t agree, is what is going on around you; ‘I’m England ‘til I die, born and bred where the love is dead, it’s social suicide, so stop your dreaming and drink your pint’. The witty social commentary continues with Han’s spoken word verse where she rhymes ‘cuppa tea, bourgeoisie, mush pea’ over punchy electric guitar.

The American Machine comes in with heavy guitars and Jim screaming ‘won’t bow to no one’ before Han sings ‘this is the death of the voice of all reason, Now the shitshows renewed for 4 seasons, We always rinse and repeat, aren’t you bored of this?’. The song is more of a direct aim at America and them voting for Trump, allowing him to continue destroying the world (with bombs). This track narrates how US politics influence the rest of the world ‘you’re half the world away and that’s too fucking close to me’ and how history continues to repeat itself ‘aren’t you bored of this’, when you give in and stop fighting back against the system. The synth continues throughout the song before Han and Jim layer choir-like vocals repeating ‘is this the end of history, watching suffering on tiny screens, pretend it’s not reality’ as a nod to everyone becoming desensitised to the news.

Hell Is On Its Way commences with a robotic voice effect over Han and Jim’s voices, repeating ‘mutually assured nuclear destruction’ before leading into a new sound that Hot Milk hasn’t previously explored with their voices. This song points a finger towards nuclear warfare and how contradictory it is; ‘Are you scared to death? It’s just a button to press, we were atomised, cauterised, in a bloodbath.

A long intro leads us into Swallow This, a metaphor for how constantly being fed information and having to digest it has led to the population becoming numb to the situation; ‘swallow this for the disconnection’.

Machine Elves is a nice little upbeat instrumental interlude which allows you some time to decompress and digest what has been said after listening to the thought-provoking, rage-inducing lyrics from the previous tracks, which force you back into reconnecting with the current political climate, before diving back into the rest of the album. The machine sounds throughout are also a nod to how everyone works like machines and detaches from reality under capitalism.

Chase The Dragon comes crashing back in after the instrumental track, with a similar sound to their earlier work. Possibly referencing that ‘love will prevail’ by repeating ‘I’m sending my love back to you’ despite the pain they are inflicting, ‘is there love in violence’. This track could also be a love letter to fans, letting them know that everything will be ok.

The first released single 90 Seconds to Midnight contains lots of cowbell ticking like a clock, while talking about how it might be too late to change anything regarding nuclear war and environmental collapse, referencing the doomsday clock. The lyrics, ‘the gaffs on fire, it’s too far gone, the guns for hire are at the door, pray to your god (your friendly bombs)’ allow for the perfect transition into ‘Sunburn From Your Bible’. ‘You think you’re holier than thou’ and ‘the sunburn radiates out, but the sun will go down’ criticise the hypocrisy that comes with religion. This track is very catchy and I’m sure will have everyone singing along at live shows. I also think this song will be popular among Bring Me The Horizon fans due to the similarities to their distinct sound.

Warehouse Salvation is one of my favourite tracks on the album; it has an electronic, early 2000s club music sound to it, combined with voice sound effects, synths, and elements of their heavier sound. ‘The world is moving slow, I guess I’ll dance alone’ is repeated throughout Han’s voice effect vocals as well as Jim’s growls. This track portrays how the world can be so lonely even while surrounded by people, and that dancing at a club is a way to cope and escape reality for most.

The second interlude, Sediments, is a continuation of ‘Warehouse Salvation’, carrying on that electronic sound but leading on from dancing at the club to where you’re lying in bed, filled with existential dread ‘keeping me up all night, ruminating anxiety.

Payment of Pain, the title track explores the notion of how we pay for the leader’s decisions. This track contains a nice contrast with Jim singing ‘the silence is so loud; I hear it calling’ and Han repeating ‘what’s my blood worth? Do you want some more? Bleed me dry, I’m yours’, all while the robotic sounding beat from ‘Hell Is On Its Way’ can be heard in the background.

Asphyxiate contains an interpolation of ‘can’t stay sober’ from their song ‘Awful Ever After’ before leading into a repetitive ‘Is it too late to asphyxiate the love and hate that we create? Is it too late to turn back time? convince myself to change my mind? Once again calls into question whether it’s too late to change the situation. This song shows the importance of resisting; ‘Are you listening or are you already gone?’, accepting the situation and becoming numb to it, isn’t going to help anyone.

Sympathy Symphony, the final track, is much slower in comparison to the other tracks and calls out capitalism, ‘genetic duty of greed’ and how it has destroyed the world as we recall. The sound of this track really creates a sense of impending doom, the reference back to the first song ‘(How Do I) Make The Devil Fall Asleep’ really ties it back in, creating that never-ending cycle feeling. ‘I shed my soul of this sympathy symphony’ shows that they have accepted defeat and given in instead of trying to fight back and resist.

Han Mee’s Politics degree, combined with witty British humour, showcases the importance of resisting the system throughout this album, all while exploring their own sound and taking it in an interesting new direction with each track.

Tour dates

30th June The Box, Luxembourg supporting Green Day
2nd July- Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam supporting Green Day
9th July- 2000Trees festival
16th – 17th August Summer Sonic, Japan
19th September Louder Than Life Festival, KY, USA
2nd October – Aftershock Festival, CA USA