Tony Molina - Kill The Lights

Tony Molina in the last few years, has become sort of a Folk hero in the world of Low-FI Indie Rock.  It was around the time of his 2014 album "Dissed and Dismissed" that I caught wind of Tony.  This album, for those of you who don't know what's up, is 11 minutes long.  And Tony's songs, usually hover anywhere from 25 seconds to a minute.  But time after time, I can't help but feel like these tracks more often than not feel complete.  Tony has a knack for writing insanely catchy tracks, that in a weird way come off as practically jingles.  Combine that with often heartbroken lyrics and a serious Low-Fi flare, and that's Tony in a nutshell.  Tony returned with another short and sweet EP in 2017 with "Confront The Truth".  Now, this was a much cleaner EP with Tony working with almost a Folk Rock sound.  Which came off very nicely, and I still commended Tony for writing such short and enjoyable tracks.  I mean, it's tough to make all of these short track come off as truly complete.  But I did sort of miss the Lo-Fi vibes of his previous work, to the point where I almost squealed with delight when the scuzzy guitars of the final track "Banshee" popped in.  So like the doofus I am, I've been hoping deep down that with this new project Tony would take a nice step back to Lo-Fi land.  But from the sounds of these singles, which are his most lavish and beautiful and sweet yet, Tony has won my heart back and I haven't even listened to the album yet.  Let's chat.

This album, at 14 minutes is Tony’s longest to date, no joke.  It starts out with “Nothing I Can Say”, and right off the bat it’s shocking just how much Tony has taken on a Jangle Pop sound.  But it works so incredibly well and ends up coming off ultra nostalgic.  I honestly feel like this is the cleanest production he’s worked with yet, something I feared going into this album.  But there’s such an innocence and youthfulness to this.  It’s just so pleasant and sweet and reminds us very quickly what Tony does best. But immediately, “Wrong Town” is sort of just the opposite of what I wanted to hear.  At least instrumentally.  Lyrically, I actually really love Tony’s themes here and some of his lyrics about growing up in the wrong town.  And honestly, it’s all really sweet.  But instrumentally, this is a big down point for the album for me.  It’s everything I was not into about “Confront the Truth”, and I’m just so much more interested in hearing him go more in that more Jangle Pop direction.  Then we have “Afraid To Go Outside”, and I don’t really know what happened to that really great sound this album started with.  Thankfully, Tony’s songwriting is on point, and he can write a fantastic short tune to save his life.  I love the sincerity of his vocals here, and just how filled with sorrow this track comes off with.  It’s heartfelt and tender and has some really great keyboards backing him up.  I just really wish Tony would go back to where he started off here.  But of all of the short, stripped down tracks here, “Now That She’s Gone” comes off the most in Tony’s favor.  This is easily one of the most downtrodden and truly sorrow-filled tracks we’ve ever gotten from him, and that’s saying something.  And honestly, Tony keeps things catchy even when he’s making you weep. Thankfully Tony really picks it up for the remainder of this album.  “Jasper’s Theme” is a track I have nothing but great things to say about.  I love the triumphant keyboards and the nostalgic tone to all of this.  I literally feel like listening to this is like discovering an awesome theme to a long lost sitcom, in the best way.  It’s just so catchy, and I love how dreary Tony sounds here, he’s still so close to that sound of “Dissed and Dismissed”.  And I couldn’t be happier that at 2-minutes, this is one of the longest tracks here.  Tony, you picked the right one to flesh out.  Hell, we get a great guitar solo as well, good deal!

Now, while I wasn’t into some of the early tracks, Tony really is getting back in the right direction.  I love the positive vibes of “Give He Take You”, and just how jolly and Jangly this one is even if it’s still a very dreary tune.  You really have to give it to Tony, he can pack so many ideas into these very short tracks.  And some of these little guitar breaks are just so damn catchy and memorable.  Now, you see, now that things are going a little bit more smoothly I can totally appreciate a more stripped-back track like “When She Leaves”.  I have to give it to Tony, his performance here is just so emotional and bruised, it’s fantastic.  And that little stripped down guitar solo is just the icing on the cake.  It’s short, sweet, straightforward, just like this entire album.  Then we have “Look Inside Your Mind/Losin' Touch”.  Of all of the more stripped-down numbers here, this is by far the most concrete.  This one has such a fantastic melody to it, and the synths and delicate backdrop here really make for a wonderful picture.  It’s catchy, and at 2:26 it’s the longest of the bunch.  But it’s bluesy and bruised, and seriously lovable, and that last solo is a brilliant little addition.  Cheers Tony.  “Before You Go” is another very sweet and dreamy acoustic ballad.  And while yes, I do still wish he continued down that Jangle Pop route, this is just so likable.  The guitars are so memorable, and Tony’s very soothing performance is brilliant.  This 14-minute album is just about done, but not before Tony gives us one more track in the form of the instrumental “Outro”.  And yea, this really doesn’t do to much outside of sort of wrap things up, and being a Tony Molina track you’re damn right it’s short.  But it’s joyous and leaves the end of this album with some hope at least. 

Rating:  7.9/10

Give A Listen To: “Nothing I Can Say”, “Jasper’s Theme”, “Give He Take You”, “Look Inside Your Mind/Losin' Touch”

 

Least Favorite Track: “Afraid To Go Outside”

Genre: Jangle Pop / Indie Rock / Low-Fi

Overall Thoughts: Tony Molina, master of the “Blink and you’ll miss it” song, returns with his most fleshed out album to date.  Which to fans of his modern classic “Dissed And Dismissed”, is going to sound terrifying.  But Tony has almost completely thrown out his scuzzy guitars for catchy, somber Jangle Pop, and it’s overall really solid.  Obviously, this is Tony Molina we’re talking about, and this is his longest album at 14 minutes, so we can only talk about this album for so long.  And it did take me a little while to get into his softer, acoustic tracks here.  But while this may not topple his “Dissed and Dismissed” album, Tony here has pulled out his catchiest and best tracks since and proves that sometime soon he may just outdo himself.