THE MOLOTOVS + THE SUKIS + SOAKED @ CAMDEN ELECTRIC BALLROOM – 23RD OCTOBER 2025
Touted as the most exciting young band in London, The Molotovs have been recommended to me on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, they have developed a frustrating habit of playing gigs when I’m busy elsewhere! Honestly, you’d have thought that they would have consulted with me. Tonight, though, the stars have aligned, and we’re in the same venue at the same time. Halle-bloody-lujah!!!
However, before I have my first Molotovs experience, there are two support bands to get rocked by. The first of which are Soaked, who hail from Southend. In terms of rock folklore, Canvey Island, the home of Dr Feelgood, would have been cooler, but you can’t have everything. They walk on to Frankly Mr Shankly by The Smiths, which gains them bonus points, before cracking into the Chuck Berry classic Come On, as covered by The Rolling Stones for their first single. To be fair, it’s probably the most powerful version of the song that I’ve ever heard. So far, so classicist. These boys certainly know their musical history.
Frontman Brandon Frisby is trying to get the crowd to move, initially not too successfully. He perseveres, though, and eventually there’s a seething mosh pit. The band are a three-piece with some excellent bass from Ronnie Cochrane. Brandon Frisby mostly sticks to rhythm guitar. They might want to think about finding a lead player. I’m So Sorry is a new song which sounds like a close cousin to the Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop. Still, apparently, talent borrows whilst genius steals, and if you are going to steal, you might as well steal from the best. Seaside is about friendship and sticking together through hard times, which are fine sentiments, but the song has a virtually identical chord sequence to its predecessor. It also has some too obvious Jam / Weller references too, including Brandon saying that the song is about having a “solid bond”. Also, there’s a chance that he might be trying just a little too hard to be a ‘geezer’.
Thank You is a tale of lost love. Brandon sticks in some nice guitar licks here. Vocally, he sounds oddly like Wreckless Eric. I don’t know whether this is a good thing or not. He bravely tries to crowd surf whilst playing guitar. He’s partially successful. The Simple Little Things is a charity single for an eating disorder charity. The lyrics are particularly poignant, and if I had a hat, I would tip it. Final song Talk About It sounds like The MC5 around the time of the Kick Out The Jams album, and it’s a great song to finish with. I think that overall, this is the kind of sound that the band are aiming for, and they carry it off really well. This is something that they should work on, whilst maybe dialling down the geezer-isms. Also, they should try not to stop stock still during every song. Once or twice during the set adds to the sense of tension, doing it in every song is just annoying. Other than that, keep up the good work!
The Sukis are one rung up the running order from Soaked, and have a noticeably greater degree of cohesion and professionalism, although these are probably qualities that Soaked would say that they don’t want. The band are certainly very assured and confident, with singer and lead guitarist Tige Burns executing some impressive leaps at the end of the first song. There is no gap to speak of between that and the second song, Animo, which is gloriously punchy, as indeed is the whole set. Both guitarists play lead, the other playing a Rickenbacker, but Tige plays the bulk of it on his Stratocaster.
Cherryade has a hint of early Arctic Monkeys, with the bassist and other guitarist executing scissor kicks at the beginning. Olivier is their latest single and features some impressive dual lead guitar. The Sukis have a lot going on musically, but in contrast to Soaked, they say very little. Hence, we don’t have many song titles! However, I’ll definitely be seeing them when they play live next. They’re an ace live band with some awesome material.
Finally, it’s time to see whether The Molotovs live up to the hype. By the end of the opening song, Urbia, it’s blindingly clear that they do. With Matt Cartlidge’s choppy crash chords and his sister Issey’s powerful bass lines, there’s more than a bit of a nod to The Jam. More importantly, though, it’s an influence that they’re taking along with them. Newsflash is immediate, and the siblings harmonise with the perfection that only siblings can have. A storming cover of David Bowie and the Spiders from Mars’ Suffragette City follows, with Matt effortlessly replicating Mick Ronson’s guitar solo.
From the get-go, the crowd are with them, with a seemingly never-ending mosh pit and mega-enthusiastic crowd surfers. Issey is something of a bass hero. They’re very few and far between! Her playing is powerful and fluent, with elements of Bruce Foxton and mid-1960s Paul McCartney evident in her playing, with the odd hint of John Entwistle too.
After Johnny Don’t Be Scared, someone shouts a comment about Issey’s Union Jack dress, the content of which I didn’t quite hear. However, she replies as follows: “I’m proud to wear this dress. Proud to sport this flag. Proud of our Britishness, which is so integral to who we are. This is British identity. People gathered together for music and a legacy of British artistic history. We must reject cultural pessimism – reject division, intolerance and hate – and embrace togetherness in its wake”. How’s that for onstage articulacy? Matt is a little more down to earth – he ironically dedicates Is There Any Hope to Nigel Farage. There are those who opine that politics should be kept out of music, but in the current political climate, there are moments when musicians need to stand up and be counted, and The Molotovs have done that admirably.
My Metallic Wife is a new song and is an absolute banger. It’s followed by Rhythm Of Yourself which is the band’s latest single. Echoes of The Jam, the Pistols and early Arctic Monkeys abound. Popstar is fast and pokey and is followed by another Bowie cover: Rebel Rebel. The Cartlidges’ parents must have a great record collection!!! The band’s version of this song is faster than the original, and it tears the place up. No Time To Talk is the fastest song of the se,t though, with an ace guitar solo to boot, with Matt coaxing feedback from his amp.
Wasted On Youth is the title track of The Molotovs’ debut album, which comes out at the end of January, and quite a few tracks from it have been played tonight. If what we’ve heard is anything to go by, it’s going to be epic!!! During Wasted On Youth Matt falls backwards over the drum riser whilst just about managing to continue playing! He seems unhurt and bounces up and carries on. More More More is one of the band’s earlier singles, and features a blistering solo from Matt whilst Issey machine guns the crowd with her bass. As the set reaches its close the energy and intensity just continues to rise. Come On Now just screams ‘classic!!’ and has a cataclysmic guitar ending, whilst encore Get A Life finishes with sustained feedback from Matt’s guitar, which he has dumped on the stage.
This has been one incendiary performance. Not only that, the material has been top-notch, too. Tonight’s show wasn’t sold out when the doors opened, but the walk-up audience will have sorted that out. I’m pretty sure that once The Molotovs’ album is released, they’ll be looking at playing Brixton Academy or Hammersmith Apollo. What struck me about tonight was how experienced they appeared, how confident they were and how amazing the songs were. If somebody had told me that the band were in their mid twenties, I wouldn’t have been in the least bit surprised. Issey is 19 and Matt is only 17. Jaw-dropping doesn’t begin to describe them.
WORDS: MARK KELLY PHOTOS: CRIS WATKINS
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