New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


?>

 

Makin Waves Record of the Week: "The Calling" by The Milwaukees


By Bob Makin

originally published: 08/27/2020


Jersey City-based The Milwaukees long-awaited sixth LP, “The Calling,” was worth the wait. The Mint 400 Records release is one of the best Jersey albums of the year. PHOTO BY VICTORIA ENGBLOM

Inspired by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, The Afghan Whigs and Foo Fighters, Jersey City indie greats The Milwaukees have returned with “The Calling,” their sixth album and first in nine years. Formed 22 years ago, The Milwaukees today have one sole original member: founding singer-songwriter-guitarist Dylan Clark. He’s joined by longtime lead guitarist Jeff Nordstedt, who’s been on all Milwaukees’ albums except the 1998 debut, “Sunset and Sunrise”; bassist Donovan Cain, who joined around 2007, and new drummer Austin Faxon. While they’ve been away from the recording studio for a while, they’ve always practiced weekly and done a handful of shows each year since the release of their last outing, 2011’s “American Anthems, Vol. 2.” That includes plagued ‘n’ protested 2020.

Based on the national response to the 2001 LP, “Missile Command,” The Milwaukees were expected to have the kind of success that went contemporaries Thursday’s way, but that eluded them, and the grind of life broke their rock ‘n’ roll dreams but not their fervor for making excellent music. Produced by Tom Beaujour (Nada Surf, Juliana Hatfield, Guided by Voices), “The Calling” will appeal to fans of Gaslight Anthem and The Hold Steady with 10 tales of disillusionment, hard knocks and survival that kick off with the single “No Way Out.” The edgy, jangly affair flirts with Petty within a hearty, hefty gasp of Gaslight upon the mistakes of youth that become the trappings of adulthood.

“Wild Heart” then offers a stinging cry for mercy from a lover whose grown out of control, followed by the swaggering anthem “Stay Gold,” an indie inversion of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” mixed with a mashup of David Bowie’s “Young Americans” and “Golden Years.”

“Mother Mary” offers a rousing, driving stomper about alienation and acceptance, protection and perseverance, while “Falling” is an anthemic mid-tempo rocker that will appeal to those who appreciate the somber hopefulness of Springsteen’s “If I Should Behind” and “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and Petty’s “Free Fallin’ ’” and “Won’t Back Down.”




Please support the advertisers at New Jersey Stage!
Want info on how to advertise? Click here



The sultry soulfulness of “Our Blues” expresses painful regret in the face of passing joy. Those sentiments continue with “Burn & Shame,” a jangle ‘n’ scorch that slashes with the edge of punk-rockin’ knife while staying true to a fiery foundation that recalls The Replacements and The Call.

Because of its hopefulness in the face of hardship, “The Calling” is one of the best Jersey albums of a tumultuously devastating year that draws to a magnificent close with its three best songs. “Proud of Me” is a guitar-ringing plea for affirmation from a lover whose been blinded by a futile quest for perfection. I love the second verse: “And your meaningless obsession is your own worst enemy. A shattered mirror hides your own reality. There’s a fundamental difference — and it’s always plain to see — between the man I am and who you want me to be.”

Another earnest lyrical nugget, “Highwire” is about holding onto an elusive dream weighed down by a harsh and unstable reality of fear, desperation and lack of faith.

And the closing piece de resistance is the plaintive, piano-driven title track. One of the best Jersey songs of the year, “The Calling” exquisitely summarizes the album’s hopefulness in the face of hardship, especially heartbreak, with a tale about how music (or any passion) can heal the hurt it often causes.

America needs a lot to make it great again, but this album definitely is a step in the right direction. I hope The Milwaukees get the opportunity to share it live as much as possible.

 




Please support the advertisers at New Jersey Stage!
Want info on how to advertise? Click here



 

Bob Makin is a reporter for MyCentralJersey.com and the former managing editor of The Aquarian Weekly, which launched this column in 1988. Contact him via email and like Makin Waves on Facebook.



New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.

FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Frisson

Frisson Winds

Thursday, July 10, 2025 @ 7:30pm
The Morris Museum Back Deck
6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: music


 

Candlelight

Candlelight Concert: Tribute to Queen and The Beatles

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Monmouth University - Pollak Theatre
400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
category: music


 

Damn

Damn The Torpedoes - The Music of Tom Petty

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music


 

There,

There, There (A Tribute to Radiohead)

Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 8:00pm
Asbury Lanes
209 4th Avenue, Asbury Park, NJ 07712
category: music


 

Band

Band Infusion Musical Night by GG

Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 7:00pm
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC)
11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: music


 


 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Lizzie

Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Griffin House

(TUCKERTON, NJ) -- Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Griffin House on Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 7:30pm. Griffin is an American singer-songwriter and storyteller. Touring and making records for over 20 years, House has a discography that includes over 13 albums.



Grammy

Grammy Award Winner Raphael Saadiq to Bring "No Bandwidth" Tour to NJPAC

(NEWARK, NJ) -- Get ready to experience an exceptional performance by Raphael Saadiq at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) on Thursday, October 2, 2025 at 8:00pm. This highly regarded one-person show, entitled "No Bandwidth," will highlight Saadiq's extraordinary talents through a compelling blend of storytelling and musicianship. Attendees can anticipate an unforgettable evening filled with artistic excellence.



Dave

Dave Koz brings his Summer Horns tour to MPAC in August

(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- Get set for a night of smooth summer jazz and funk with a touch of the sounds of the 1970s when Grammy-nominated saxophonist Dave Koz comes to Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) as part of his Dave Koz & Friends Summer Horns 2025 tour on Wednesday, August 6, 2025 at 7:30pm.



A

A Chat with Jasper Smith of Straight No Chaser Which Brings its "Summer: The '90s Part 2" Tour to STNJ on July 16

Straight No Chaser is bringing its Summer: The '90s Part 2 Tour to State Theatre New Jersey on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. The nine-member a cappella group originated in 1996 at Indiana University in Bloomington and has gone on to sell three million albums, earn two gold records, and amass over 1 billion streams on Pandora.



Centenary

Centenary Stage Company presents Yacht Rock Gold Experience

(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company's 2025 Summerfest Series continues with a one-night-only concert event featuring Yacht Rock Gold Experience on Saturday, July 26, 2025 in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center at Centenary University. The band celebrates the soft rock and smooth sounds of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Showtime is 8:00pm.