Substream Magazine - Music. Film. Culture. Obsession.
Midwest emo enthusiasts, it’s time for the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Hot Mulligan‘s new EP, Opportunities, is officially out today.
For those who are unaware, Hot Mulligan is a East Lansing, Michigan emo/rock five-piece that actually originated in the state’s Upper Peninsula. Since making the move to the state’s capitol in hopes of finding more exposure and an audience—as well as to attend college at Michigan State University—the band has made multiple rounds of the Midwest, finding the strength, security and more identity in their work than ever before.
After a long 2016 of touring and recording, the quintet is finally set to release their new EP, truly capping off the year with a bang. Much of the Michigan and Midwest-specific emo scene has become acquainted with Hot Mulligan this past year, with the band sharing Bled Fest’s main stage with the likes of Citizen, Knuckle Puck and Kevin Devine in Howell, MI, as well as touring with Upper Peninsula emo act Charmer. The band also released a split with Columbus-based alt-rock outfit Everyone Leaves this past March, which you can check out on their Bandcamp.
Read more: Hot Mulligan, Kayak Jones ring in the new year with Midwest tour dates
Opportunities will mark the band’s third EP, following their 2015 re-issue of their debut, Fenton, and its followup, Honest & Cunning. Opportunities makes for a truly significant release, however, as the material was engineered, produced and mixed by the Apology Tour/former Swellers frontman Nick Diener, and mastered by Sorority Noise/Old Gray vocalist, Cameron Boucher.
“It feels like a step forward for all of us,” says the band’s guitarist, Chris Freeman. “It definitely reflects our growth as songwriters, and I think anyone who has listened to us prior to this EP would agree with that statement.”
Freeman also states that the band’s writing process was much more focused during the recording of Opportunities. “We wanted to create exactly what we wanted—a pop-sensible emo/punk crossover—but we didn’t want to lack the power and energy we had in some of our earlier songs. And while this might be the best collection of songs we’ve written yet, we’ve learned so much throughout the development of this EP. We’re just now starting to tap into our full potential, and Opportunities is the result of that.”
The band will be supporting the EP starting in a couple of weeks on a Midwest tour with Iowa-based emo-indie outfit Kayak Jones, whose own sophomore EP, Flawed, came out just last week. The pair will tour from December 27 to January 7, ending with a Lansing hometown show at the city’s beloved Mac’s Bar as Hot Mulligan’s official EP release show.
You can stream the EP and find the band’s upcoming tour dates below.
The post PREMIERE: Hot Mulligan explore new ‘Opportunities’ on latest EP appeared first on Substream Magazine.