Milly - "Talking Secret" | Post-Trash Premiere

by Torrey Proto

The new single “Talking Secret” from young Los Angeles-based upstarts Milly is a true slow-burn that oozes thick, syrupy melodies that unfold at a deliberate but assured pace. The band’s first single on Dangerbird Records is complete with a seemingly straightforward video directed by Logan Rice that matches the song’s delightfully moody atmosphere. What begins as a few simple shots of the band performing quickly warps into more unsettling images of them swinging in slow motion on a swingset under a tree after dark. The visuals along with the band’s effective use of repetition capture a subtle but undeniable sense of unease hidden beneath a thick layer of fuzz and warmth.

On the growth of the band and the evolution of the song and accompanying video, vocalist and guitarist Brendan Dyer had this to say: “It was a song I had been sitting on at the end of my old band. I knew it had potential but it never felt 100% right when we played it. I recorded the song in Colorado with Corey Coffman in December of 2018. He helped me restructure the song from what it was to the song we know today and I enjoy it much more now. Originally I had made the song with the idea of keeping things repetitive. I was thinking a lot about taking off in an airplane/ the idea of motion or forward momentum. I feel that the guitars and drums especially capture this 'driving' feeling.”

Regarding the video: “We were just tooling with different ideas around motion (swingsets, steering wheels). For the live shot, it was filmed at Jim's Fallbrook Market in Woodland Hills. We didn't even let anyone know that we were doing it. We just kind of pulled up on a week night and set everything up and went for it. No one cared which to me added to the eeriness we were trying to capture with the video's feeling.”