Manchester-based alt-rock band Hot Milk, consisting of Han Mee (vocals/rhythm guitar), Jim Shaw (vocals/guitar), Tom Paton (bass) and Harry Deller (drums), released their sophomore album “Corporation P.O.P” on June 27, 2025.
It is their first album in two years since the 2023 debut album “A Call to the Void”.
The album comprises 14 tracks, produced by Jim Shaw, Josh Strock and Zach Jones. Written by Hannah Mee, Jim Shaw, Josh Strock, Philip Strand and Zach Jones,
The band wrote the album in just three weeks and recorded between their Salford flat and a live room in Los Angeles, using only analogue instruments.
The band guitarist Jim Shaw said of the album,“Corporation P.O.P is a flurry of thoughts, feelings, ramblings from the answers 'n questions about where we're at right now in England, the further western world and emotionally. It is an entry from the perspective of us lot who live a dichotomy of months in faraway lands and then experience the sudden grounding of returning home to Salford. It's hard not to compare, contrast, and try to understand. P.O.P = Payment of Pain. We all must live with the burden of modernity and this pain has been commodified; we all must pay. 'Corporation pop' itself is a term Hans grandad used to refer to the water supply, something that runs throughout all our homes, just as current events run through us all.”
He continued, “Not saying we have the answers but the conversation should always be open, bring logic and evidence, and everyone should be able to change their mind, we are never finished articles. In a time where the doomsday clock ticks closer and warfare looms, it seems prudent to look introspectively into the human condition and attempt to understand the bigger picture to find a solution. The truth about ourselves can lie somewhere in between, and the imperfections can be difficult to accept for some. Violence through expression, warfare through persuasion and I will cause irritation through takin the piss n goin' slightly above my station. Fuck it, that's where the fun lies. It doesn't always need to be said with a straight face.”
The band lead singer Han Mee told DORK about the album, “We haven't followed trends with 'Corporation P.O.P.'. We're not trying to chase the next big thing. It was more about creating a solid, truthful moment because that's the stuff that lasts. This is perhaps the most Hot Milk we've ever been, and that's a beautiful thing.”
She continued, “We've recently come to the conclusion that this album is about everything I'm scared of. It's an album from a place of fear. I don't want to just shout at people. I wanted the politics to be a bit more quippy, a bit more tongue in cheek. I wanted it to have that British element of smiling when you should be grimacing. It feels like the real-life conversations that we all have. I wanted to keep it light as well as serious because that's who we are as people. We're not afraid of taking the piss. We wanted to make sure people didn't feel too empty at the end of the record. I would hate for someone to feel even worse after listening to it. It's why the tragedy and comedy thing is so important.”
She added, “I don't think it's the sort of album that will change the world because I don't think music can provide that rallying point anymore. I hope it offers people an understanding that they're not the only ones feeling like this. I hope there's a sense of camaraderie to it.”
The band explained some tracks for the album.
“(How Do I) Make The Devil Fall Asleep” via DORK
Jim Shaw: “Climate change, war… you just feel helpless. There is just this little niggling voice constantly in the back of my head, telling me that things have gone too far,” adds Han. “It's all very dramatic and confusing. You either want to give up or try and fix things.”
“Insubordinate Ingerland” Han Mee: “A necessary excursion that was born quickly and forcibly. We had no choice in this song coming out of us, probably the quickest song we ever wrote lyrically. In modern-day England, it is difficult to know where we stand in a wishy washy world of identity politics. Who are we? Who are they telling us we are? What do we stand for? Why is the poverty gap widening? Why are old people freezing? Why is the NHS in disarray? Is our culture just the pub? But I love the pub? Is that bad? Am I just on the bevs to forget the bollocks outside? I'm so confused. This song is just that, a confused, hyperbolic look and an aggravated poke at ourselves. I'm England til I die... because I have no choice and this place might be the death of me yet.”
Jim Shaw: “The fun thing about 'insubordinate ingerland' is that Han has had that tattooed on her terribly for a number of years as a sort of reflection as to the crumbling state of a nation that tends to do what it wants. For better or for worse. She thought fuck it let's turn my stupid stick n poke into a song and here we are. What's extra fun about this song is that we roped in so many mates to make it… the gang vocals were recorded by Jim in his front room in Salford with all our mates after tea one night. The video was shot in Bolton with our mates as extras and our long-term collaborator and friend Kennedy as director. It looks a lot more expensive than it was…Good lad, Kennedy.”
“The American Machine” Han Mee: “It is difficult to love the world right now on the global stage. The imperialistic and dangerous rhetoric coming out the USA cannot be ignored. The language and aggression is becoming more ridiculous every day, it feels like the days of decorum and level-headed governance are in the past.
When we look to our cousins across the pond I don't recognise a common goal, it gets stranger with each passing week. This song is not anti-American, it is anti-arsehole, anti-hate, anti-oligarch. Essentially, America can keep its weird shit over there. We do not want a piece of the American machine. The system is breaking. We have seen your country sevenfold and the love and understanding for those who are struggling is waning within your walls I thought you were built on so-called Christian values? We live in scary and stupid times, how could we not put our worries into song form? There is always hope, however. I know common sense prevails within many people and good does reside in the USA. It's up to the rest of us continue and ride this out and to do what we can”.
“Swallow This” Han Mee: “We live in a post-truth era, we are confused, we are lost and we are untrusting. We must follow our gut to what is moral, right and kind. SWALLOW THIS" is a protest song against the hypodermic needle of control media. They anger and press upon pressure points to gain control. As we have always said, question everything. It is healthy and it is right in this world that has evolved too fast for our primate brains to keep up.
We must prioritise the wellness and safety of our fellow man, no matter their race, creed, religion, gender or sexuality. We are human beings - do not let something as common as money and power replace what truly matters. Community, joy, laughter, spirit. I will stand on that picket line first if it comes to it, for now, this is all we got. Enjoy, f 'em.”
“90 Seconds To Midnight” Han Mee: “The Doomsday Clock is nearing midnight and this frantic song sets the mood for the oncoming nuclear winter. We wanted to punch you proper in the face with this, this balls-to-the-wall little riffy boy comes bounding at you relentlessly. Lyrically we took inspiration from 17th century philosopher Rousseau and the poet John Betjemen with his poem Slough. Rousseau set out that humanity would never be free as we create our own shackles. In this case, we've created our own demise. Whereas Betjemen's poem takes this notion of demise and laughs at it, inviting the nukes in 'come friendly bombs'... Let's set the gaff on fire and start again.”
“Where Does The Light Get In?” Han Mee: “This song is its own beast that came from a place of great torment and suffering, matters of the heart are rarely touched by our band but after the last year put me into a place I never wish to return I couldn't not write this song. It was a necessity.”
Jim Shaw: “Sadness doesn't last forever, but when it consumes you it feels like it's there for eternity. Essentially this song is a cry out for a change in circumstances. It's hard seeing someone close to you in pain and feeling powerless to change it. I wanted to exacerbate the vulnerability of this song so I began as stripped back as I could, me and a piano, and played what you can hear as soon as the song starts. We wanted the lyrics to come across almost like a prayer so we brought in the girls in Espera to record a choir and act as the response in the chorus.”
