Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Time is the mystery that never reveals itself until the final moment; it is almost as if it has a secret desire to be seen cloaked in a black cape, twirling a 19th century melodramatic moustache and hitching up at the last moment to pronounce to the awaiting world that it was indeed it that set the wheels in motion.
Whether it be the inspiration for a novel, the first anticipated kiss under the moonlight with the one you have lost your heart for, or just making sure the fates collide and the wheels move smoothly under a band’s intriguing set-list once again; Time is always the hero and the villain combined, twirling moustache always optional.
For Sheffield’s Milburn, Time has taken a leaf out of its own hard leather backed ledger and seen the sense of once more coming back together and releasing a set of new songs which gratify the soul and punch the air with delight. For Time is the name of the game this time round, Time and the supporters of the band are very much the winners in the re-emergence of Milburn, however for the band itself this is vindication of all that they went through before and the generosity of spirit it becomes a wonderfully sounding group when they face the world straight in the face again.
To lose such talent would be a waste and in tracks such as Midnight, Take Me Home, Keep Me In Mind and Medicine, Milburn return with force, gentle perhaps, a calmness of spirit keeping the bubbling excitement on the down low, but nevertheless a ride in which the memories of what went before come flooding back and the hope that comes with all bands who have a second shot at success, are able to sustain and keep the momentum going.
A wonderful return, the album Time is honest, tender but full of boisterous charm, for Milburn you have to congratulate, to thank with all that is possible to give, for many groups never see the light of the time away, they only hear the whispers from the fans who move on; for Milburn this light has taken Time to task.
Ian D. Hall