Rising star Molly Payton shows of lo-fi, ‘90s slacker sound on confessional EP.
The five-track release is effortlessly cool – ironic, considering one track tackles the concept of just that: being ‘cool’ (‘How To Have Fun’). The song teasingly questions, ‘Do you really know how to have fun?’ – a thought that lingers in the mind and is continuously reassessed throughout the EP. The playful delivery is a sign of Molly’s candid nature, which comes to the fore throughout the release.
The EP shows real versatility. Molly adapts her vocal across each track and while opener ‘Warm Body’ and ‘Going Heavy’ adopt a bedroom-pop sound reminiscent of beabadoobee, ‘How To Have Fun’ is more anthemic, possessing arena-potential with its catchy chorus. This is quickly contrasted by the acoustic flavour of ‘I’m Too Smart’ – an arrogant song title contrasted by a modest soundscape – and EP-closer, ‘Rodeo’, a campfire tune inspired by Molly’s favourite print publication… Obviously! Molly’s voice really shows off it’s range on these two tracks. Moving from her standard tone towards a higher pitch, it’s truly stunning.
An eclectic release, this is a singer with an abundance of potential exploring her sound and yearning to carve out her own niche in an overpopulated landscape of indie music. With a powerful vocal and a knack for quirky lyrics, all that’s left to be seen is whether Payton can establish consistency over a full-album in the near future.
Haiku Review:
A star emerges,
Please sir, can I have some more?
Song named after us.
Porcupine is released tomorrow, 16 October 2020. Listen to Molly on Spotify and Apple Music.
