One of the first tracks from Calderdale artist Millie Milner I came across was their solid track Troubled Mind released back in the dark days of last year. While it was recorded in a rather demo way, I enjoyed that stripped back feel. The sentiment in the song, around protecting and soothing a stressed out loved one, was perfect for those early lock down times.

It feels a bit strange already, but anxiety over the then new world and the uncertainty was completely all around us. If we weren’t worried originally, the reaction of many of those close tempted it. A great comfort to me is the Buddhist mantra “all things must pass”, and the sentiment of the song totally reaches into that. Ha – pushing at an open door. For me, the song of hope from Millie reminding us we will get through it, tapped into what makes the best of us.     

Millie is a queer artist, and one of the things that really drives them in music, is to produce songs with sentiment and emotion that speak to the LGBTQ+ community. Actually, here is a song with the desire to calm and protect and a message for anyone.

When Millie announced the withdrawal of that original Troubled Mind in favour of a re-recorded and updated version, It’ll Be Alright, (which taps into another lyric in the song), I had something of a troubled mind myself. Would the track both gain and lose something?

Happily, with It’ll Be Alright, Millie has released a total soothing bath bomb of a song. Full of fizz and smoothing foam, it’s totally a soundtrack to relax in the bath with a loved one with. Just make sure your skin doesn’t get too wrinkly. The track is more polished than the original, and not in a gushing way it retains that love and care in the tune. It’s a tricky path to toe and here Millie pitches it perfectly.  

A few weeks ago, I caught Millie live for the first time at the Huddersfield Northern Quarter. I know Millie as a young student has been rightly experimenting with their musical style, and at the gig, I caught a set influenced by a bit of country, a bit of rockabilly, and a bit of 50’s rock and roll.  There was lush relaxed full rounded guitar strokes there and It’ll Be Alright totally fits into that vibe.

It sounds like a perversity, but I know a lot of UK artists follow an Americana vibe, where they see a wide open vista across the hills, dream of prairie but also see the Asda. Clearly this is one track and just one gig I attended but Millie with this track could happily fit in here to that. I know Millie plays different types of songs, so I’m sure there will be other styles to follow, but this song totally rocks. Gently rocks.

Chris R

* Images taken from Millie’s social media