American punk band Hot Mulligan deliver buoyant pop-punk laced with emo sincerity, drawing from acts such as Taking Back Sunday, the Wonder Years, Motion City Soundtrack, and Tigers Jaw. After releasing a pair of EPs through Michigan-based independent Save Your Generation Records, they joined the No Sleep roster and unveiled their debut full-length, Pilot, in 2018. Two years afterward came the follow-up You'll Be Fine, while Why Would I Watch surfaced in 2023 via Wax Bodega; further singles, among them "Stickers of Brian," appeared the next year.
Originating from Lansing, Michigan, the outfit formed in 2014 around vocalists Tades Sanville and Chris Freeman, the latter of whom also handles guitar and drums. Initial lineups included guitarist and bassist Brett Annelin, who contributed to their first release, the 2015 Fenton EP, along with Dolan Bowie, Logan Hayward, and Fin Svoboda, all of whom participated on the subsequent Honest & Cunning EP. Personnel evolved across subsequent years, though Sanville and Freeman stayed central. A split EP with Everyone Leaves arrived in 2016, succeeded by the pivotal 2017 EP Opportunities, later reissued with the added acoustic cut "Deluxe Capacitor."
Once signed to No Sleep Records, the ensemble—comprising Freeman, Sanville, and new members Brandon Blakeley and Garrett Willig—tracked their inaugural album. Pilot landed in early 2018 and incorporated fresh versions of "Deluxe Capacitor" plus "All You Wanted by Michelle Branch," climbing to number 13 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart upon release. Early 2020 brought the second album, You'll Be Fine. The group sustained its post-emo approach on 2023's Why Would I Watch, the first Wax Bodega title, which reached number 38 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart. Following the Hot Mulligan Lofi EP, they issued the 2024 tracks "Sticker of Brian" and "End Eric Sparrow and the Life of Him."
