POST-BURNOUT
The germ of being a musician for the Dubliner Lisa Milk Murnane came from her love of parody tunes. “It’s a very strange beginning; I was obsessed with Weird Al as a five-year-old, and would consistently rewrite popular songs I was hearing on the radio to whatever,” she laughs when speaking with Post-Burnout.
“Comically, the first song I ever wrote was, as a six-year-old, talking about the Maastricht Treaty, which was going on at the time! [Laughs] I have no idea why! [Laughs] I was plugged into that!
“Obviously, as I got a bit older, I would’ve gotten more involved with more big, atmospheric music. I was a massive fan of Kate Bush. Also, Siouxsie and the Banshees, in a big way, was very influential to me. And, a little bit later on, Mitski would’ve been very important.”
While Lisa tried playing in bands in her teens, they never lasted very long, because, inevitably, one of the boys she would play with would end up crushing on her, forcing her to quit the project. “I’ve never got to stay in a band longer without the bullshit relationship side of things ruining everything,” she laughs.
While Lisa continued to write originals throughout her life, it wasn’t until college that she considered releasing them. “I almost felt like I didn’t have permission to publish them or be public with them,” she explains. “I was like, ‘Well, everybody writes songs, but mine are crap, so why would I do that?’
“Then, during college, a friend of mine was doing a very public musical project, and she was like, ‘Lisa, that song you just sang there was better than my song I have out. You should do something.’ Being told that I was allowed by a peer [Laughs]
“Myself and my friend Maeve [Costello], who’s our bassist, we’ve been playing around, but never decided on anything. Then, at the end of college…around January 2020, we would’ve decided to form the band! [Laughs] Perfect timing! Definitely didn’t fall off the cliff!”
Lisa and Maeve were able to round out the band with Thomas Earls on guitar and Conor O’Boyle on drums. With Maeve’s love of riot grrrl, Conor’s love of experimental instrumentation, and Thomas’ love of funk, the band became much more open than Lisa initially expected.
Throughout the lockdowns, the four worked on Milk Rain’s debut single, “Gedrosian,” over Zoom, which was a track that an Alexander the Great-obsessed Lisa had written during her time in secondary school.
After nearly three years of toil, the single was finally released in November 2022. “To finally have it finished felt like I was ripping off a Band-Aid and giving birth!” laughs Lisa.
“And it was kind of a mild anti-climax, as well. I knew nothing about PR and promoting myself at the time. [Laughs] So, I was incredibly proud of my baby, but I released it to a black hole; to virtually no reception! [Laughs]”
Since the release of “Gedrosian,” Milk Rain have been performing live. Without noticing, it took three years to release their follow-up. On the first of the month, the band came out with “Merry Fucking December,” an anti-festive Christmas song about seasonal depression.
“It was a nice thing to release it on the first of December, to push myself to be motivated, and do things, and have a bit of a burst of energy at this stage of the year,” Lisa says of the release. “Historically, every December, I’m in a bit of a low point. Obviously, nowhere near the low point when I wrote this song, nearly two years ago! [Laughs]”
In compassion to “Gedrosian,” Lisa really pushed this single as far as she could, and has seen the results of her efforts. “I’m kind of astounded by the fact that it is getting an audience,” she admits. “It’s actually been really wonderful, and I’m a little confused as to who all these people are! [Laughs]
“We’re getting a lot of stream from Serbia, and I don’t know anybody who lives in Serbia! [Laughs] So, it’s been really, really lovely. Props to a friend of mine for taking my hand and teaching me how to do social media better. [Laughs] Shoutout to Ella for that!
“So, yeah, having some reception at all is much more relieving, rather than going, ‘I made this thing! Please look at it! No? Never mind! Don’t worry about me!’ [Laughs] ‘People actually like it? Wow, thanks!’”
With the new year around the corner, Milk Rain’s focus for 2026 is releasing their debut EP. “We’re looking at three songs, and it’s a particular story, as well,” Lisa says of the EP. “We’ve got a middle, beginning, and end on the EP.
“It would’ve been two outburst writings. [Laughs] For two of them, it was borderline a tantrum, I would say. [Laughs] I wrote out two of those songs, I believe, in the same day, and then, a couple of weeks later, I wrote out a new song that I thought was unrelated, but, on closer inspection, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m completely calling myself out on my pattern of behaviour on this song,’ so it’s a nice conclusion on what I did wrong.”
While there were three-year gaps between Milk Rain’s singles thus far, Lisa ensures listeners that they will not have to wait until 2028 to hear the EP. “If it doesn’t come out next year, I’ll go crazy!” she laughs.
Milk Rain’s latest single, “Merry Fucking December,” is out now. You can keep up with the band through their Bandcamp and Instagram.
The band will perform at Anseo on Dublin’s Camden Street on January 22nd, with guests Goblinz and Mark + Luke. Check their social media for details.
Tune into POSTBURNOUT.COM Interviews…tonight at 22:00 (IST) to hear this interview in full. Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music Podcasts.
Aaron Kavanagh is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Post-Burnout. His writing can also be found in the Irish Daily Star, Buzz.ie, Totally Dublin, The GOO, Headstuff, New Noise Magazine, XS Noize, DSCVRD and more.