The Molochs – Flowers In The Spring
Hot on their heels of 2017’s sophomore album America’s Velvet Glory, The Molochs have returned with their new album, Flowers In The Spring. Sound-wise, they sit somewhere between the sixties chic of The Byrds and early noughties band The Thrills via a splash of The Dandy Warhols. The Molochs’ brand of summery American West Coast indie pop could put a smile on many a face. ‘I Wanna Say To You’, for instance, would be the perfect medicine for a festival crowd and wouldn’t struggle to get people shaking their bodies. Likewise, ‘To Kick In A Lover’s Door’ contains sufficient lyrical moments to raise a wry smile whilst also being a great singalong tune.
The songs are vocal led and form a concise collection of mainly 3-minute songs, each track telling a different story. ‘Pages Of Your Journal’ has a juicy, dark melody line whereby we’re “Slipping through the pages of your journal, I took it when you weren’t looking – there’s enough to write a book in“. ‘And She’s Sleeping Now’ kicks off with a delicious acoustic guitar and is joined later in the track by strings. The songs work so well because they’re kept intentionally direct, i.e. there are relatively few layers of instrumentation – and this extends also to vocal harmonies, so it’s a surprise when, during ‘Too Lost In Love’, a harmonised vocal suddenly makes an appearance – and sounds great too.
The Molochs understand how to carry off a good chorus – ‘Shadow Of A Girl’, a song about an ex-girlfriend who leaves a stream of broken promises, then leaves, but who he still fancies – “Oh God, just one more night” swoons Lucas Fitzsimons.
‘Wade In The Water’ has the hallmarks of The Kinks with its jingly-jangly guitar intro and summery chorus. They almost leave the best until last with ‘All The Things That Happen To Me’ with its slowed down ‘Wild Thing’ guitar riff redesigned for 2018.
The album is a ride through the summer of love. Which summer? You decide.
‘Flowers In The Spring’ is released on 7th September.