The Milk Carton Kids Come Full Circle
Dialling in from Los Angeles, Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan of Grammy-nominated duo, The Milk Carton Kids, chat with The Note about returning to their creative roots and what to expect from their Adelaide guitar festival appearance.
Words by Zara Richards
Image supplied
It’s been eight years since dual-Grammy-nominated folk duo The Milk Carton Kids played Down Under. But after the recent release of their seventh studio album, I Only See The Moon, Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan are ready to fly more than 13,000 kilometres to Australia to perform their new music.
That is, of course, after completing the arduously long flight…
“I know you Aussies have a higher tolerance for plane travel,” chuckles Kenneth from his L.A home via Zoom. “But not us! We have to seek medical advice before trying to journey to Australia. This is no small potatoes! [But] it was important for us to come and have this experience with the Australian fans.”
Since 2011, The Milk Carton Kids have become respected masters of the indie-folk genre, known for their neo-traditional sound and impressive harmonisation. In 2013, the duo was nominated for their first Grammy Award for Best Folk Album following the release of their The Ash & Clay record, before landing a second nomination for Best American Roots Performance in 2015.
Now, 12 years since meeting, Kenneth says he and Joey have been “all the way around the block” musically. They’ve reinvented The Milk Carton Kids method – how they produce and perform music – countless times. They’ve booked bigger shows, jammed with backing bands, written entire records in a week and even tried to replicate past successes. But for their seventh record, the pair feel like they’ve creatively come full circle.
“We realised the magic at the beginning was us following our intuition and trying to make something together,” he says. “We’ve arrived back at this place where that’s good enough. Ironically, once we started to do that together, it took us to all these different places – [now] it feels fresh, it feels new and it feels exciting.”
Returning to their music roots encouraged the pair to re-evaluate their record-making process. At the time, The Milk Carton Kids were wrapping a three-week studio session building the album that was supposed to be I Only See The Moon. “Then at some point, Kenneth goes, ‘I don’t really think we have a good record here’,” says Joey. “I was glad he [said that] because I felt the same way.”
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It took the pair six months to find what sound suited their seventh project. It’s the longest time The Milk Carton Kids have ever dedicated to making an album. But finding creative patience was the key to making a record that Joey says he’s “the most proud of” to date.
“Giving [ourselves] time was the way to acknowledge inspiration doesn’t just flow non-stop,” he tells The Note. “You just have to wait. I think it was crucial we did that.
“Otherwise, we would’ve put out another album, gone around the world and pretended everything was fine.”
For Kenneth, producing the album further helped him set boundaries between his work and his craft. “When I’m just the artist, I get frustrated,” he says. “As human beings, when we get frustrated, we tinker with things or turn over on them. [Producing] was a way for me to deal with my artistic process in a different and more functional way.”
I Only See The Moon has the hallmark sound of The Milk Carton Kids – ethereal yet traditional acoustic folk, tender lyrics and spine-tingling harmonisation. But by stripping back their creative process and affording themselves time, the duo has created a ten-track record that’s singular, sharp and assured.
The band’s newfound drive for their craft and performance is why they’re one of the most anticipated acts to catch at this year’s Adelaide Guitar Festival. The Milk Carton Kids live show will be immersive and intense, punctured with moments of light-hearted relief.
“One of the main things we’re trying to do with our show is create a very enjoyable sense of emotional whiplash,” Joey says. “It’s something earnest, cathartic and emotional. And then we love to talk to the audience and joke with them in a way that undermines the construct of two guys up on stage playing sad songs for an hour and a half.”
The guitarists will be supported by American/Canadian multi-instrumentalist and poet, Vera Sola. Kenneth says Vera is one the most exciting artists he can think of in the last five years. “I think the audience will be fonder of her than they are of us!” he says.
The chance to perform live again in Australia – and for the first time in Adelaide – feeds into a larger meaning for The Milk Carton Kids. It’s a chance to reconnect with a global group of indie folk listeners.
“It’s a special group of people,” says Joey. “It feels good to participate in that and hopefully give these people we care about something they can then also care about.”
“If somebody halfway across the world is saying ‘we love your music’,” adds Kenneth, “it’s a lovely human experience to meet that.”
See The Milk Carton Kids perform at the Adelaide Guitar Festival at Her Majesty’s Theatre this July 13. The Adelaide Guitar Festival runs from July 1 to July 16.
