Rapid Rising and Relentless Rocking: The Molotovs in Interview

The rise of The Molotovs has been fuelled by relentless gigging, sharp songwriting and a distinctly old-school rock and roll attitude. When I caught the band at Sheffield’s iconic Hallamshire Hotel back in January this year, the energy was buzzing around the room, as they radiated the kind of confidence that only comes from playing hundreds of gigs. Since then, they’ve released their debut album Wasted on Youth, grown their record of over 600 gigs, and most recently joined Yungblud on the UK leg of his arena tour. Ahead of another busy run of shows, Matt and Issey, from the rehearsal studio, kindly agreed to chat with me about starting out as teenage buskers during lockdown, the chaos of their early gigs, their songwriting process and what’s next for The Molotovs. 

I just wanted to start by asking about your beginnings. You’ve obviously come a long way, but how did you get started as a band? 

Issey:  Yeah. So we started about six years ago, at, like, the end of lockdown, just Matt and I. We started busking, first of all, just with two acoustic guitars, but then we got our drummer in, and we’re busting all around like, you know, Central London and Soho Brixton, yeah, just all the time, just learning the covers of the bands that were now inspired by.  The Jam, Sex Pistols, The WHO, The Kinks, The Libertines, people like that. And we just took every opportunity that came about, and everything just led to something else. Everything was connected. We picked up one fan along the way each gig, and that just leaves us today. We built our kind of following through our live and we’ve done over 600 gigs in that time, and that kind of brings us to now where we got our debut album out, and, you know, just did our first like kind of major headline tour, and then we’ve got another one in September as well. 

What was it about busking? Why did you want to start out that way? 

Matt: Well, because we couldn’t get any other gigs like anywhere else, because it was lockdown. There were no venues open, nowhere to play. But as soon as that summer came around, we started about the summer of 2020, and people were out, so it was the only place that was sort of people to play to. 

Issey: We were so young and no good as well. So, no one would take us. 

How has the change felt going from busking to smaller venues to just recently being on a UK arena tour with Yungblud? 

Issey: I mean, that was a big jump, because that was our first arena tour. But again, I thought we felt quite, dare I say, comfortable on stage, because we kept it pretty tight together, and it’s just three of us. We’re not, you know, making the sound bigger by using backing track or anything like that. It’s just what you see is what you get, guitars, bass, drums, and so that kind of formula doesn’t change no matter how big the venue goes. So I guess we’re well practiced in those environments, aren’t we?  

You released “Wasted on Youth” back in January. What were your influences for that album? 

Matt: I think more than would influence the songs, because I don’t think that we got a different sound on the album that we had in mind, but the songwriting of, let’s say Ray Davis and Pete Shelley. 

Issey: That other P word. 

Matt: Yeah and Paul Weller and Johnny Rotten and things like that, and Glen Matlock. Songwriting like that, I guess. And the Beatles and Small Faces and the WHO that all influenced that album, just because, like, the melody, stuff like that, but sort of the 60s to the fury of punk really what we were going for. 

What about your writing process? 

Issey: Melody, chord, progressions, lyrics, and bring us into the studio like we are now, and then we’ll flesh out here and put all the bass and drum parts in and work on harmonies and but also to kind of filter out the songs as well. Matt writes quite a bit, so it brings a load in. And then we go, we pick the creme de the creme, really, from those options. So I guess we’re just the adjudicators. 

What influences your live performances? 

Matt: The songs. Songs do inspire the way you move, because it’s just what you play in the music that’s that you make, it makes you move in a certain way, you know, because it’s so infectious. And, yeah, that that high energy, that fast, loud pace, you’re only gonna move a certain, you know, one way when you’re playing that. I mean, it’s like the guitar is an extension of your body in that way. So, when you move the guitar like that, or whatever, and you know, slash away at it, your body’s gonna follow, it’s like a whirlwind of energy just churning through you, really, without sounding all spiritual about it. 

What was your most chaotic gig? 

Matt: Probably those in 2023 we put on these Youth Benefit gigs. We call them Youth Explosion, and we did them in a library in southwest London, and it was all ages £3 tickets, and they were mayhem. The venue was legally 300 capacity, and I think we had about 6 or 700 in there by the end. So we realized how many people it could hold. So we thought, oh yeah, we’ll just keep on selling tickets. But yeah, it was just about that many drunk teenagers just trying to get with members of the opposite sex and just going mental.  

If you had advice for an upcoming band what would it be? 

Matt: I’d say, play with your mates, do loads of gigs. 

Issey: Yeah, don’t think yourself too good for a gig ever, especially in the beginning stages. Just go for it. You can’t be too choosy, because you’re probably not going to be very good when you start. 

Matt: I would say actually, any money that you earn from the from the gigs you’re doing, save that. Don’t dish it out to all the all your band mates first of all to get paid. Just cover your expenses and put it into the band pot. And then, because it’s so hard, obviously, with money, even like, to get gigs and get to the next place, and doing gigs in other places, it can be expensive. Do local gigs, make that money, and then you can go further afield. And then, you know, you can bank and fund itself, because it’s a shame. A lot of bands, they break up over money, just it costs too much to do. If you’re young, can’t get into venues because of your age, lie about your age. Just get in there.  

Issey: Grow a beard and wear a suit. 

Matt: Yeah, wear a suit. Wear a suit, a cheap suit. It doesn’t matter. Just get a suit. People automatically think you’re five years older than you are.  

Issey: I’d say have a style. Have a band style. Set yourselves apart from beginning. Have a band identity, almost like a manifesto. It can change. Be part of a scene as well. Don’t have snobbery with bands. Get along with people. 

What’s one thing that fans might not know about you? 

Matt: Oh, if I get famous, I’m gonna get a pet. 

What pet?  

Matt: Well, I’m glad you asked. I’m gonna get a Galapagos tortoise and three of them. I’d call them Strange Reg, King Lazarus and Garfunkel. 

Issey: The tortoise dream 

Matt: The ones are expensive, the ones I’m looking at! This isn’t one, one Bob, two Bob business. This is, like, these are grands worth and like, you gotta get, like, the enclosure. 

What would you say keeps you motivated to play? 

Matt: What motivates me? Just get to a level where I can make music totally my way and have to answer to, like record labels or things like that. And you know, one of the constraints of money is maybe music that I want to make, and I can do it totally myself while still having commercial success. But I won’t pander to the trends or anything like that. I don’t think I ever have either, but pandering to the trend is just to make get commercial success. Obviously, I think for every artist, they’d like to have it and do exactly what they want. Have their cake and eat it. And people can do that. So I want to have my cake and eat it. Have my tortoise and feed it. 

What’s next?  

Matt: We’re in the middle of sort of making an album, in some ways, and just sort of teaching the guys the songs, and we’re going through it. We’re actually going to Paris tomorrow. 

Issey: We’ve got that headline tour in September headline we’re in Leeds. We’re playing at Leeds Beckett Student’s Union, which we’ve played once before, supporting Palaye Royale, but now we’re doing it ourselves. So very much excited for that. So yeah, that’ll be our next big tour, and we’re going to do some more touring as well around in Europe, I guess it’s not very UK specific. So we’re just going to be busy. We have loads of activity. We’re not going to stop. 

Raw, loud and unapologetically ambitious, The Molotovs have built their rock’n’roll reputation through persistent gigging, distinct brit-pop meets punk style and explosive live shows and they most certainly show no plans of stopping. As they mentioned, you can catch their headline performance in Leeds on September 17^th this year at Leeds Beckett Students’ Union. It’s certainly not one to miss, especially if you wish to contribute towards the “tortoise dream”.