If the name The Molochs gives you a ring towards Velvet Underground, don’t worry, you’re completely right. The Los Angeles duo is rightfully paying its dues to one of its key inspirations. And if the name of their label, Innovative Leisure which issued their second album, America’s Velvet Glory, rings yet another one, as they are the home of another Sixties revivalists, Alah-La-s, you’re absolutely right again.
O you might think you got The Molochs fully pinned down? Well, yes and no. Sure, The Molochs trade the similar ware like some other modern-day Velvets followers, like The Strokes and The Dandy Warhols. But they do not stop there. On the other hand, unlike the Alah-La’s they don’t root their sound in the that Sixties echo/reverb garage sound, but throw in quite a bit of the Rolling Stones (like the Dandy Warhols nemesis Brian Jonestown Massacre) and dash of the Seventies, like, um, the late Velvets and Lou Reed.
What's more important The Molochs are able to conjure a sound quite their own with all those influences thrown into the mix. Ten Thousand, the album opener is quite a good indicator of what awaits for you: a Nuggets like sound with swirling Farfisa organ and chiming guitars, and that a bit snotty Jagger/Reed vocals. A bit contrived? Maybe. Any good? Actually, very good. The point of the whole thing when you wear your influences on your sleeve is to do it with your soul and sincerity in it and that it should sound, not necessarily identical, but definitely authentic to what you feel and want to convey. And The Molochs manage that. Take for example Charlie’s Lips, which has such a catchy melody and chorus that it deserves a special single treatment and a hit status to boot. Or take That’s the Trouble with You - you have the feeling as if the guys have accidentally picked up a Stones demo from Exile On Main Street and decided to give it a remake of their own.
If absolute originality (is there such a thing in today’s music?) is your absolute must, or if The sixties and early Seventies influences are something you want to steer away from, that The Molochs and their second album are not going to be your thing. But, if the just simply good sounding music is what you’re looking for and also love the band like the Velvet Underground (who doesn’t?), go grab this one.
