The Molotovs Live At Rescue Rooms

Words: Tom Gensler

CREDIT : Kane Layland

The Molotovs are one of the UK’s hottest acts right now, strongly noted and

tipped off by a lot of big industry names for their commitment to revivalist indie rock

and a clear love of performing and writing music for the live setting. They release an

album, Wasted On Youth, on 30th January, but not before performing on their

biggest UK headline tour yet, making a stop at the legendary Rescue Rooms in

Nottingham, where Dizzy Magazine went down to see them.

It’s not very often that a band has their debut gig - their first ever live show

together - at the legendary Rescue Rooms. So when a band does, there’s a lot of

anticipation, but People Laughing rose up to this and delivered an absolutely fantastic

debut set. The local band, fronted by Matt Grocott, with Ollie Carnell on bass, Luke

Hallam on drums, and guitar form Lewis Cresswell, provided a roaring indie-pop set

to an eager sold-out crowd. Their music and stage presence radiated cool, boasting

a big live energy, that filled the live setting and made for a really enjoyable vibe. The

songwriting was solid and the sound complemented it all. Lyrics flowed off Grocott’s tongue

whilst the rhythm section worked its magic to support, making sure every note he

sang hit. The band work extremely well together, and especially for a new band, it’s

a real joy to see and hear live. Another thing that really impressed me about People

Laughing is their variety of songs, with a strong balance of groovy, pounding indie

numbers alongside more pop-leaning numbers. Their song My Worth is a big

highlight, with a resonant, striking performance and punchy drums that are really

memorable. They ended with a rousing rendition of their debut single, One Thing, and

it was brilliant, energetic, smooth and grooving. The band’s tightness throughout the

set really stood out to me, they’re all evidently in touch with each other and it

pays off; both sonically and visually, everything was smooth and concise and very well-

presented. People Laughing are definitely ones to watch around the Nottingham

scene, especially for those seeking sleek modern indie, and I’m expecting big things

from them this year.

Watching Hull’s The Velvet Tuxedo play live is like entering one massive collective

time machine alongside the crowd, taking you to the psychedelia of the 60s and 70s.

I would describe them as post-modern rock, taking that iconic 60s and 70s sound

and pushing it into the modern live setting, but really it is just classic psychedelia,

true to the form both visually and sonically, just in a modern environment. The most

impressive thing about The Velvet Tuxedo is not just how genuine they are to

the music that they so obviously love, but how musical they are, the way the notes flow out

the guitars whilst they’re pacing about the stage. Now, the guitars were visually and

musically very interesting to me; the guitarist and frontman both play SGs, again a

staple of classic rock, but the way they went about the stage with two red SGs letting

the songs flow whilst erring into the side of performance chaos was simply fantastic.

Their song Sugar the Pill is simply fantastic. The Velvet Tuxedo’s classic rock through a revivalist lens edge is so good and well-defined, however what stands out is the amount of fun they have on stage, which comes as no cost whatsoever to the quality of the music and, in all honesty, greatly elevates the performance. Their stage presence is phenomenal and their tunes are brilliant, there’s a lot to like about these. This was a truly enjoyable

set and I recommend seeing them, and hopefully we will be seeing them a lot more

this year.

The Molotovs are Britain’s hottest revivalist indie rock act at the minute. They very

heavily draw off mod acts, mainly The Jam, and at times it feels like the band are

playing unknown Jam songs just because they have the sound, aesthetic and

stage presence so nailed down, and this is not a bad thing at all; it’s a great credit to the band. It shows just how much they love the inspiration for what they make, showing dedication to craft and raw passion. Not many acts have that, but they do. It’s very impressive, and so is the band’s rise over the last year. They’ve gone from strength to strength, playing shows outside guitar shops, to shows in the middle of the road, to some of the country’s most legendary venues, earning themselves a very positive name. They’ve even supported Sex Pistols, which is a massive feat for such a young band. Now they’re releasing music, with an album following closely to this tour, with a handful of singles and a few extra live covers to their discography so far.

They arrive onto the stage to an absolutely huge crowd roar. The trio came out

axes-and-drum-sticks-a-blazing. They sling out the title track of their upcoming debut

album, Wasted On Youth, with a pulsy pumping hook accompanying pronounced

bright guitars and those signature angular vocals, again very much in the vein of the

legendary Paul Weller. Frontman, Matthew Cartlidge, boasts chimey, angular guitars

parts across the set, mirroring the styles old mod rock, and translating it effortlessly

for the modern audience, all in the live setting, which all this music was obviously

made for.

Matthew and bassist Issey (who are siblings) swap around the

mics a few times throughout the set, which is simultaneously technically hard and

visually cool, but they balance it so well. The band’s modern mod look is so natural

when set to the music, but it's also really cool. They just look like they’ve been

plucked from the 70s. It's such a joy to see a band who truly love not just the music

they make, but the things around it, like the fashion, and the attitude, and The

Molotovs epitomise it all.

The song Johnny Don’t Be Scared is easily the highlight of the set. Musically, its

verses are jagged and building whilst the chorus is euphoric, hopeful and just

blissful. Even on the release, this song just feels like it needs and deserves to be

played straight to a full, bustling room of avid people, and luckily the band have

found that. The sell-out Rescue Rooms is the absolute perfect audience and live

space for the band to do their thing that they do so well.

Overall, this was an absolutely fantastic and truly enjoyable evening of live music,

with the latter to bands boasting a confidant and passionate revivalist swagger in

their tones and notes and looks and moments. The Molotovs put on an absolutely

incredible show, but somehow every time you see them they just get better and

better and better; a true testament to their work they put in to get the live feel they

want and promote so well. This was a truly enjoyable set and I cannot recommend

seeing them enough, and I’m definitely looking forwards to the album release.