Premiere: Bootleg Rascal continue their reign with new single, Milk In My Bowl

While artists battle with creativity in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that Bootleg Rascal are thriving. The east-coast duo are already known for their creative ways - their work, which stretches from albums to EPs to stand-alone singles, are some of the most adventurous there is for an Australian festival favourite of their size - but the last six months particularly have seemingly proved particularly fruitful for the group, who are seemingly not too keen on slowing down despite having to push back their incoming national tour to later this year.

In 2020, they've released two songs already: Lonely Times and We Independent. They're both a part from their staggered-release new EP Collaboration of Very Isolated Delinquents "19; a slowly drip-fed longer form release that captures everything they've written or put out over the last few months, with the end goal - by the looks of things - being a diary-like journey through their isolation and their creativity through this time. It's a smart approach, and one that really encapsulates everything Bootleg Rascal bring to the musical table - wit, smarts, fun and a whole lot more included within that.

"While we can’t tour, Jim and myself thought it could be cool to set ourselves a challenge of dropping a new track each month and tie it all into a conceptual EP," said frontman Carlos Lara on the release earlier this year, with its announcement. "The record is set to be heavily influenced by what’s currently happening in the world and some wild dreams I had towards the end of 2019, where the world had been consumed by biological warfare."

Today, they share a new taster of the EP in the form of Milk In My Bowl, their third track of the year and yet further proof that the group have really taken the past few months by the horns to do something special. Officially arriving tomorrow but premiering on Pilerats a day early, the clip is a fusion-like moment of experimentalism that's a bit beyond their usual work, with the group bringing together a range of sounds and textures for a song that sits somewhere between the reggae-adjacent indie of Ocean Alley with flashes of R&B and pop within there too.

"Milk In My Bowl was another great opportunity for us to experiment with our sound and give something different back to fans," says the duo on the single, which later eventually flips itself on its head to become something a little slower and more soulful; a showcase of Bootleg Rascal's versatility within just one song, rather than a full-length EP or album like you'd usually expect. "Over the last twelve months, we’ve constantly been pushing the envelope sonically and it’s the most fun we’ve ever had writing and releasing music.

"The lyrical content matter follows on from We Independent, where we had removed ourselves from a toxic situation. This account further highlights the realisation that we’re so much better off, and in a way it’s us saying our peace and moving forward."

The single arrives as their forthcoming east-coast shows are moved to the second half of the year, with all their dates moved to September with the exception of their appearance at The Big Pineapple Music Festival, which will now be running in November.

Get the scoop below, and take a dive into Milk In My Bowl while you're at it:

Tour Dates: 

FRI 18 SEP | HOWLER, MELBOURNE VIC w/ SCABZ
FRI 25 SEP | MARRICKVILLE BOWLS CLUB, SYDNEY NSW w/ SCABZ
SAT 26 SEP | WOOLLY MAMMOTH, BRISBANE QLD w/ SCABZ
SAT 21 NOV | BIG PINEAPPLE MUSIC FESTIVAL, SUNSHINE COAST QLD

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