The Molotovs have been one of the most interesting young bands on the circuit over the last couple of years or so, making ever-increasing waves. Having put in the hard miles, they have built up a deservedly formidable reputation as a live band. With the release of their debut album imminent, I caught up with them via Zoom on the road (where else?) in Blackpool.
With momentum building fast — including Iggy Pop recently handpicking the band to support his U.S. shows, and upcoming arena dates with YUNGBLUD — the timing couldn’t be better to dig into how The Molotovs got here, what drives their songwriting, and why their live reputation keeps growing.
Mark Kelly: I’ve seen you a couple of times live, and your musicianship is very impressive. I know that you started playing together around 2020, but at what age did you start learning your instruments?
Matt: Eight and ten. I was eight, and she was ten.
Issey: We started learning acoustic guitar, and then Matt quickly found the excitement of the electric guitar. We started band practice in 2020, and I was put onto bass, and I was self-taught from there. I guess playing live is the hardest rehearsal, because there’s nowhere to hide.
MK: You’re obviously very influenced by your parents’ record collection, but what bands have you seen live that have influenced you?
M: They were an influence before I saw them, but I saw Ocean Colour Scene at Butlins. Steve Cradock’s playing is amazing, and Simon Fowler is a great songwriter. That set at Butlins was fantastic – one of the best that I’ve seen. I’ve seen Paul Weller live, and he’s been a constant musical inspiration since we started.
I: The first band that I saw that made an impact on me, and has become an intrinsic part of my musical taste, was The Libertines. Seeing the camaraderie and this combustible band onstage really inspired me to do the same with my own band. We’ve been touring a lot with the Sex Pistols with Frank Carter. He gives them an injection of youthful vigour. Seeing them live has been awesome. When we played at the Bush Hall in Shepherd’s Bush, Paul Cook joined us onstage and played drums with us.
MK: Your drummer’s playing really suits your material. How did you acquire him?
M: He’s actually just standing outside now. He’s probably on his way to the supermarket or something. Can you see him? (Matt turns his phone so I can see drummer Noah walking across the car park).
MK: What’s his name? Noah? At Bush Hall, people were chanting Noah! Noah!
I: I know! He’s become a bit of a fan favourite! If he keeps getting so much attention, we may have to kick him out!!! He’s a great stage performer, and he does put his all into that. He’s lovely in the dressing room, which I guess has cheered up the whole band.
MK: I’ve been listening to your album, and it’s a cracking piece of work.
I: What? A piece of work to get through??? Come on, Mark! (Issey’s joking)
MK: No, it’s a cracking piece of your work! It’s an excellent album! There’s a song on there called “Rhythm Of Yourself” which is about an older guy trying to coerce a younger person to sign a contract. Have you had that experience yourselves?
M: Yeah, yeah, it was a real experience. I would say, though, that the song is more about individualism. Not being swayed by trends or fashions, or what’s going on at the moment. Only taking influence from things that you feel good about, and that are you. Older people sometimes try to force narratives and fashions onto you, and some idea of what they think is cool. Older people don’t necessarily know what is cool. It’s like the Fred Wedlocke song: “the latest punk fashion is your wedding suit”. It’s true! Things change like that, and clothes change meaning. So we’ve been told ‘you’ve got to change your hair, and the mod thing is old-fashioned. You’ve got to change your guitars. It’s no good playing Rickenbackers, you’ve got to play Jaguars and Jazzmasters.
MK: You’re both clearly very socially and politically aware. I was very impressed with you, Issey, when you were heckled at the Electric Ballroom for wearing your Union Jack Dress. I didn’t hear precisely what the guy said, but your response was superb. And you, Matt, ironically dedicated “Is There Any Hope” to Nigel Farage. That awareness does come across in your songs. Do you think in your future work there’ll be more of that?
M: As long as I feel passionate and compelled to write about that kind of topic, then I definitely will. But I’m not going to force myself to if I don’t care about it. But at the moment, I do care about it, as a young person growing up in England, I just see the decline. Especially when you’re on tour, you notice that. We’re blessed to have grown up in London. Not everywhere is the same, and nor should it be. The problem with politicians is that they focus on the cities, but they neglect places like seaside towns and rural communities. The reason being that investment in such places won’t get written about in the press. For example, Labour changes something in Grimsby. No one gives a fuck. But if they do something in Manchester or London that gets in the news. They forget that these are real people, and politicians and the media are neglecting them. We need to bring the whole country out of decline, not just the big cities. It doesn’t matter whose side you’re on. Everyone can see the decline; it’s just that politicians can’t agree on how to fix it.
MK: I enjoyed the track “Nothing Keeps Her Away” on the album, especially the twist at the end. It sounds like it may be about an obsessive fan. Is it a true story, or is it your imagination?
M: No, well, slightly. It was embellished. There was a girl who came to the gigs when the band was quite small. She’d read articles and interviews with us and tell us how good they were. She seemed to know everything about us. It might be a funny thing to write about, and she probably thinks that I’m a right twat. I didn’t write it specifically about her; it’s more about the whole rock star myth, and the kind of ‘groupie culture’, which is a total load of bollocks. It’s quite interesting to spin it around: ‘Oh, he takes it all for granted’. As it happened, she wasn’t a groupie; she was really nice and bright as well.
MK: You have an upcoming tour supporting Yungblud. Have you played arenas before, and if not, are you apprehensive?
M: Never (played arenas).
I: The biggest one to date was with Blondie at Cardiff Castle. 1,000 people. Sold-out show.
M: We’re really excited about playing in arenas because we’ve never done it before. In some ways I’m a bit nervous because I don’t know how our sound will travel in such a big venue like that. We did Cardiff Castle, but that was open air. We’ve done loads of Academy venue,s and they’ve been great. As far as it goes with like, the O2, playing in front of 20,000 people, you can’t dwell upon it. I think that you’ve just got to go there and do the business.
MK: When you play live, there always seems to be one or two unreleased songs in your set. I’m not wishing to sound impatient, as I know that you’re only just releasing your first album, but do you have a store of songs ready for the next album?
M: Yeah, definitely. The reason why we play unreleased songs live is that, including the album, we only have eleven songs, so if you think about it, if we only played those, we’d have a 35-minute set, which is shit for anyone. People would be asking for their money back. I’m really excited about the new songs, although I do like the album, and all of the songs on it, we’ve been playing those songs for quite some time. It doesn’t get wearing, but you want to do the new songs because it’s exciting and it’s new, and it keeps things fresh for the band as well. Playing all the same songs at every gig makes each gig quite similar.
MK: I’ll be seeing you at Brighton Resident Records on the 31st. Will it be just the two of you playing or all three?
M: It’ll be all three of us.
MK: See you on the 31st!
Iggy Pop recently handpicked the band to support his U.S. shows, and The Molotovs will also join YUNGBLUD on his upcoming arena dates.
Catch The Molotovs on one of the remaining in-store dates below:
- 30/01 – Banquet Records at Kingston College, Kingston
- 31/01 – Resident Music Shop, Brighton
- 01/02 – Rough Trade, Denmark Street, London
- 02/02 – Sister Ray at 100 Club, London
- 04/02 – HMV Shop, Cardiff
- 05/02 – Jacaranda Records Shop, Liverpool
Tickets available now at themolotovs.os.fan
The Molotovs Debut album ‘Wasted On Youth‘, is out today.
