THE MOLOTOVS + RESIDENT, BRIGHTON 31.1.26
Do you like The Jam, perhaps with a bit of The Clash’s second album thrown in? Then you’ll have hit the jackpot with The Molotovs!
Formed around brother and sister Matt Molotov (vocals, guitar), and Issey Carts (bass, vocals), and now along with former stixman of now sadly defunct Brighton punk outfit Noah & The Loners, Noah Riley (drums), The Molotovs pick up where Worthing’s Ordinary Boys left off back in 2008. But whilst Preston & Co had a hint of Britpop and Madness, The Molotovs tunes are purely those of the 1979 era Jam and similar punk and mod revival sounds that the siblings found in their dad’s record collection during lockdown. Whilst you can find this sound still being played by a host of Jam tribute acts up and down the country, there is no denying that this sort of music sounds better when made by young people, controversial I know but I’m prepared to debate it over a pint in The Prince Albert!
The Molotovs are a hard working band and have spent the last few years steadily gigging and have played Brighton several times already, including The Hope & Ruin, as part of The Great Escape, (Review included HERE), The Prince Albert (Review HERE), Green Door Store as support to Laurie Wright (Review HERE), and a particularly good one last year at Patterns (Review HERE).
A support slot on the Frank Carter fronted Sex Pistols reunion tour helped raise their profile too. 600+ gigs later they are in Brighton again on Saturday early evening at another of the excellent Resident record shop’s instore album launches for their debut ‘Wasted On Youth’.
Quite the longest queue I have ever seen outside of Resident – stretching back round the corner into North Road – was gathered by 6:30pm during a fortuitous break in the rainy weather. In contrast to the youthful band, most of the crowd weren’t born in the 21st century and more than a few like me looked old enough to remember The Jam from the first time round. Thankfully a smattering of teenage faces dotted throughout the throng proved that The Molotovs are not simply another nostalgia act.
After the usual wait whilst figures could be seen moving about in the stock room, the band came out about 7:00pm to the crowd excitedly gathered around the racks of vinyl, announcing that they were going to play songs in the order they came on the album. No setlist seemed to have been made and both Matt and Issey had to glance at a copy of the album from time to time to see what was next, and although the singles were played out of sequence nobody minded.
Listening to The Molotovs is rather like an aural wine tasting – a hint of ‘Going Underground’ there, an aroma of ‘Tommy Gun’ there – but overwhelmingly The Jam and Paul Weller provide the sound, look and attitude of The Molotovs. I noticed the opening chords of The Clash’s ‘Complete Control’ and the middle of The Beatles’ ‘Come Together’. Before we knew it Matt was saying we were out of time although the Resident staff graciously allowed two more songs to be played before the band moved on to autograph signing.
The next time The Molotovs play Brighton it will no doubt be at one of the larger venues, but hopefully they will have time to fit in a slot at Chalk before they inevitably end up at one of the more soulless places like the Brighton Centre.
The Molotovs:
Matt Molotov – vocals, guitar
Issey Carts – bass, vocals
Noah Riley – drums
The Molotovs setlist:
‘Get A Life’ (from 2026 ‘Wasted On Youth’ album)
‘Daydreaming’ (from 2026 ‘Wasted On Youth’ album)
‘Come On Now’ (from 2026 ‘Wasted On Youth’ album)
‘Nothing Keeps Her Away’ (from 2026 ‘Wasted On Youth’ album)
‘Geraldine’ (from 2026 ‘Wasted On Youth’ album)
‘Newsflash’ (from 2026 ‘Wasted On Youth’ album)
‘Rhythm Of Yourself’ (from 2026 ‘Wasted On Youth’ album)
‘Popstar’ (from 2026 ‘Wasted On Youth’ album)
‘Today’s Gonna Be Our Day’ (from 2026 ‘Wasted On Youth’ album)
