Tony
Molina’s
latest record continues his pathological commitment to brevity: only one track
on Kill the Lights (which sounds –
entirely inappropriately – like a Metallica
album name) makes it passed the 2 minute mark. But, unlike some of Molina’s earlier work, this never feels
rushed or uncomfortably sparse. Kill the
Lights is an exercise in distilling song-writing down to its most
fundamental parts, and then showing them off (once – difficult to repeat choruses in 90 second songs). Key
musical reference points (to my ears anyway) are late-career Elliot Smith, early (specifically Blue album) Weezer and Rubber Soul-era
Beatles. There’s 60s rock, folk-prog
and 90s guitar pop. All appearing very briefly. Some tracks fade away, others
just end abruptly. No time to get bored, and there’s something refreshing about
getting to the good stuff and then moving straight on. But the shortness of the
tracks can also be a little frustrating on occasion, and repeated listens are
essential (in case you blinked). Overall, though, this is an album that has no
dip in quality at any stage: and you can’t ask for much more than that. Short
not cursory.
sample track: Nothing I Can Say