Liverpool’s rising indie outfit Honey Motel is turning up the volume on 2025 with the announcement of their upcoming EP Motel FM, accompanied by the release of their radiant new single, “Milk,” out now.
“Milk” is a genre-blurring statement of intent. It opens with a haunting a cappella — fragile and spectral — before exploding into shimmering, rhythm-driven indie rock layered with jazzy guitar inflections, thick basslines, and crisp, offbeat percussion. The track builds toward a euphoric, anthemic chorus where crunching alt-rock guitars collide with soaring vocals, echoing the emotive power of bands like Nothing But Thieves.
“Milk explores the quiet unravelling that happens when you’re unable to open up, especially in moments of emotional low,” explains guitarist Sam Meredith. “The song captures the struggle of bottling things up, of feeling detached, numb, and disconnected from the world around you, particularly through the lens of male vulnerability.”
Vocalist Freddie Griggs, who brought his raw lyrical perspective to the track, drew from personal experience in shaping its emotional core. The result is a song that feels both intimate and urgent — a quiet collapse disguised in bright, infectious energy. “Inspired by Freddie’s own experiences, “Milk” sits in that tension: the fear of speaking, the pressure to keep going, and the subtle cracks that form when you can’t,” says Meredith. “The lyric ‘where are the drums” becomes a cry for distraction, a metaphor for the urge to drown out what’s really going on inside, or a question of why life doesn’t feel as effortless as it seems for others. It’s a track about losing grip, quietly, and what it sounds like when no one hears it.”
Honey Motel’s story began in the rehearsal spaces of Liverpool, where teenage friends Sam Meredith and Jack Hughes first bonded over a shared love of groove-heavy, guitar-led music. The rhythm section locked into place with the arrival of drummer Lew Fogg in 2023, and the lineup was completed in early 2024 when Freddie joined as frontman. Their debut performance as a full band at Liverpool Sound City 2024 marked the beginning of a fast-paced ascent through the UK live scene. With appearances at Stockton Calling, The Great Escape, and now the Main Stage at Y Not Festival, Honey Motel are rapidly becoming one of the UK’s most promising indie acts to watch.
