Milky Chance Release “Living In A Haze”

Indie act Milky Chance delivers a gorgeously melodic effort in their new single “Living In A Haze” that has a lot of critics talking this season, and if you give the track even a cursory listen, I think you’re going to understand what all of the fuss has been about. While “Living In A Haze” is an aesthetical fusion of modern pop and new-era electronic rock music, it doesn’t feel like the same kind of hybridity that has been burning up the indie charts in the Western hemisphere. There’s something unbelievably fresh about this number, and the musicians who comprise Milky Chance.  

Aside from the lead vocal, which demands a reaction out of even the most discriminating of critical ears, the instrumentation in this single is remarkably evocative. Texturally and tonally, there’s a narrative being explained and further colorized just by the bottom in “Living In A Haze” that linguistics just can’t cover on their own, and within the universe of contemporary pop music, that isn’t the kind of feature I typically expect to find. It’s what separates the erudite from the moderately trite, and in this scenario, it makes Milky Chance sound and look all the more artsy and focused than they already would have.  

There’s a heavy synth-pop influence to this act’s sound, and you needn’t look past the insular harmonies conveying each lyric to us to pick up on its presence. I do like that Milky Chance isn’t quite as conservative in their attack as some of the other crossovers I’ve been reviewing in 2023 have been, and yet they’re not too eager to splurge in areas that most critics – myself included – would have been quick to describe as excessive. Maybe they’re not completely sure who they are yet, but if “Living In A Haze” is any sort of representation of what they want to be, I’ll be checking out their next single.  

The bigger melodies get a little brutish towards the end of the song as they try to match the brawn of the fleeting string element, but they find some incredible balance in an increasingly fragile vocal that channels the essence of yearning after “Living In A Haze.” One of the things that made me intrigued by Milky Chance upon hearing them for the very first time was their creative duality, and more importantly, how they chose to use it for their gain. They’re dedicated to the songwriting, which is more than I can say for some of their closest rivals.  

I just got turned on to Milky Chance with their string of studio cuts in 2023, but I like where they’re going with their sound in “Living In A Haze.” There haven’t been many underground acts to make it big outside of their localized markets lately, but with the kind of harmoniousness this band has going for them, I think they’re going to have a real shot at breaking some new ground once they get a new full-length album under their belts. “Living In A Haze” is a home run, and if you haven’t listened to it already, I think you should do so immediately.  

Mindy McCall