Written by: Madison Boyce
The Albany locals in the pop punk/ska band Millington are back at it again with another incredibly solid release. The band consists of Alex Maloy on guitar, Jon Bintz playing the trombone, Brandon Rutski with the drums, and Cody Okonski being the lead vocalist as well as playing the bass. On top of being an incredible frontman, Okonski records and produces all of the band's music on his own - truly a man of many talents.
On April 17th, Millington dropped a six track EP, titled “Beatdown Generation,” a release that shows their progression as a band. “Beatdown Generation” is only their second EP to ever be released, but they have released singles here and there. One of the things that stands out after completing my first listen through of this ep is the line “Did you lose all the feeling, when you fell through the ceiling?” on the title track and how it's represented in the cover art done by Kt Bierman. This track is most definitely the ska anthem of the ep. The opening track to the EP, titled “Saddest Side,” Cody is talking about showing your “saddest side” and showing emotion when in a relationship.
There was only one single leading up to this release and that is a track called “Misery.” With this track, the overlying feeling of gloom and literal misery was very clear, even when I had my first listen. The next track is titled, “Let You In,” and truth be told, it might be my favorite song off of “Beatdown Generation.” “Let You In” seems to be relating to having struggles in a partnership and feeling the disconnect with one another. With the lyric, “He couldn't tell her that he loved her, without crossing both his fingers behind,” it paints a picture in the listeners mind of no trust in a relationship.
A track on the EP is called Hss, and with this, Okonski seems to be speaking about some of the positives about being infatuated with someone, “When I say everyday you amaze me. Let's ditch this rundown place. Nothing matters when I see your face.” Something special about this track is that Cody included some Japanese in it! The last track on Beatdown Generation is one titled “Gone,” and in my opinion, this is the perfect way for Millington to close out this release. Between Cody's vocals and the backing vocals, courtesy of Alex and Brandon, this makes for such a solid song. The repetition of certain words such as “gone” add to the overall feeling within the track. Overall, this is an incredible release from a spectacular band. If you haven't checked them out yet, I highly suggest giving them a listen.