The much hyped teenage siblings deliver on their early promise with a full-on indie guitar debut album. Out on Marshall Records the 30th of January.
If you have your ear even vaguely to the ground in the UK music scene then you are going to have heard constant mentions of The Molotovs over the last year. A lot of it likely positive, however there have been some doubters in the live arena on a few showings. Mathew Cartlidge (vocals/guitar) and Issey Cartlidge (bass/vocals) are highly marketable, fashion conscious and stylish, well versed in English guitar history, appealing to those who wished either the Mod scene or Britpop had never ended. They know how to engage in a bit of stunt publicity, recently shutting down Berwick Street in Soho in aid of The Big Issue. If you were going to pick one clear influence then The Jam would be top of the list, though they trawl a lot wider than you may have initially suspected.
Everything here is well put together, some of it feels like proper football terrace anthems in the making. The key sticking point is the total lack of originality on offer. There is nothing you haven’t heard before in some form or another. That said, this trio, completed by drummer Will Fooks, are all surprisingly well drilled and practiced – they have completed over 600 gigs already despite not yet hitting the age of twenty. They know what a big tune should sound like and they deliver a series of massive choruses. One can’t help but feel they will be a large part of the UK musical conversation over the next twenty years.
Essential Tracks: ‘Get A Life,’ ‘More, More, More’ and ‘Today’s Gonna Be Our Day.’
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