The Molotovs delivered a rip-roaring, blockbuster performance at London's O2 Kentish Town Forum, cementing their status as a promising guitar group with a bright future. The trio, fronted by blonde siblings Matt and Issey Cartlidge, went off like a rocket the minute they hit the stage on Friday night at the packed, fever-pitch venue.
Opening with a Mod-infused punch
The Oasis song Bring It On Down comes immediately to mind as smartly dressed drummer Noah Riley strikes up the tom-toms on opening track Johnny Don't Be Scared, calling a distinctly Mod-like crowd to the fore with a 'come get some' attitude. A jagged and wild Matt, looking unmistakably like a young Paul Weller, tears out the first chords on his beautiful white-cream Rickenbacker 330 like he's ripping a hole in time, driving us back to 80s punk infused with all things Mod revival.
He jerks and chugs his way around the mic stand, pulling the catchy tune away from the obvious Britpop influence to more vintage punk and New Wave mix energy. And then the voice kicks in, dripping in that classic Weller style, speak-singing the verses in a familiar yet different melody, jangling along with the open chord guitar notes, before hitting those harmonic choruses with his sister in brilliant cohesion, lifting repeatable slogans like "still waiting here" with a baying crowd singing along.
New songs and a packed setlist
It's on to Rhythm of Yourself, a bass-driven foot-tapper that gives a manic Issey her chance to shine, thrashing her body around stage like a loose snake, all while never missing a beat. This has a Chelsea Dagger vibe, but again there's early Oasis in there a little on the chorus and fuzzy guitar solo. It all feels like a caged rock animal battling constantly for escape, right on the edge of a loss of control but never actually getting there and remaining firmly in the palms of this trio's enviable hands.
Third track Born In Society, from next year's second new album Welcome to Urbia, is the opening track of that upcoming LP and the best tune so far. Catchy as hell, it has a mid-tempo pace as the siblings grow in confidence, reducing some song speed for a brain-sticking tune that'll light up the charts in early 2027. The set powers on with a mix of songs from their successful first album earlier this year, Wasted On Youth, music that landed them in the public eye very quickly with a memorable high-profile performance on The Jonathan Ross Show.
Encore and a bright future
Daydreaming, Geraldine, Today's Gonna Be Our Day all pump along at a hefty pace, and it's then you realise that this 2,300 capacity crowd are bopping along, dressed like modern day Mods and rockers, willing this young bunch on to ever-higher success with pints lofted in the air in approval. New songs arrive, another taste of what's to come in 2027, with three-week-old new single Urbia being a standout. This has a Bowie-like chaos to it, mixed in of course with plenty of The Jam influence and perhaps a little Ocean Colour Scene and, dare I say Kula Shaker, to its guitar work.
Some beautiful harmony singing throughout My Metallic Wife, another new song, really lifts the levels coming off stage and makes this three-piece sound far bigger than the sum of their parts. Here we get snippets of a Housemartins influence, it feels like a sequel to Happy Hour - but with time changes. The main set ends on a cover of Bowie's Suffragette City, which feels like a perfect fit for this group as they push the speed to warp levels and layer on that ever-present punk vibe to a wildly nodding audience.
Four tracks in an encore follow after the applause rolls on for what seems like an eternity. A welcome acoustic turn helps showcase Matt's excellent vocal work on upcoming hit The Man Who Could Never Be, and a Hendrix-laced You, Me - Shadowboxer delivers a lovely snappy singalong which the crowd picks up quickly despite never hearing it before. The gig ends on a massive version of chart hit Come On Now, and with that mid-track lyric "destined for greatness, from the get-go" ringing across the auditorium, it's not only biographical, but true.
The Molotovs are a blistering ball of energy, backed by catchy singalongs that feel both of the moment and of another time. They're gigged to perfection, with not a dance move or note out of place throughout this hour-long joy. The quality of that second album, yet to come, seems all too clear as the audience emerges into the autumn evening like they've experienced a whirlwind of musical immensity that will propel this group firmly into the nation's conscious in the not too distant future.
