Music Review: Green Milk From The Planet Orange – Tragedy Overground (Single)

While touring across Europe and the UK earlier this year, Green Milk From The Planet Orange (GMFTPO) were kind enough to bring copies of their latest single with them and needless to say, we had to grab a copy. True to the band’s modus operandi, Tragedy Overground is a twenty-two-and-a-half monolith that takes the listener on a musical journey from heady highs to the lowest of lows, all the while mixing up tempos to great effect. It’s a canvas onto which the band explores rich and varied sonic textures and finds them in a rich vein of form.

GMFTPO were originally formed in Tokyo in 2001 and gained a modicum of success with two albums and a handful of singles, along with several warmly-received tours around the USA. Unfortunately, the band went on hiatus in 2008 only to be resurrected in 2016 by dead k (guitars and vocals), A (drums), and new bassist Damo. The three make a formidable partnership and in the tradition of the very best power trios (think Budgie, Motörhead and Venom) often create a sound that is far bigger than their individual parts. However, GMFTPO fully understand musical dynamics and there’s plenty of light and shade in the music, a juxtaposition between loud and quiet to ensure their music is multifaceted and multidimensional.

Green Milk From The Planet Orange at The Tin Arts in Coventry | Photography by Peter Dennis

It is undeniably true that from tiny acorns mighty oaks grow, and that’s the case with Tragedy Overground. It all begins in a rather sedate fashion as if these instruments are meeting for the very first time, they sound tentative and unsure of each others company. Yet, slowly they are drawn together in an easy equilibrium and swirl around the listener like friendly spectres. This is progressive music in its purest definition; it’s exploratory and powered by a forward motion, it is very organic, and although it has a framework, gives the impression that it could veer in any direction. It’s a song of many suites, some silky smooth, some startling and violent, but it is the hypnotic nature of this recording that makes all these transitions so effortless. In fact, Tragedy Overground alters the very fabric of time; such is the immersive, all encompassing nature of this disc that means it’s elongated running time appears to pass in the blink of an eye.

The main thing I took away from GMFTPO’s live show was their musical virtuosity and the skill they displayed was enough to make any amateur musician throw down their instrument in exasperation. Damo’s bass is prominent in the mix and often dictates the rhythm, dead k pulls some previously unheard sounds from his guitar and has a vocal style that can only be described as “otherworldly”. It’s no wonder that A is so ripped and muscular, he proves himself a powerhouse behind the kit and switches tempos and rhythms with apparent ease. Originally written in 2006, but finally recorded in March this year, Tragedy Overground finds GMFTPO in rich form and with much more territory waiting to be explored.

It’s an ambitious single, but in the case of fortune favouring the brave, it really works and far from being a “tragedy” it should be called Triumph Overground.