The Molotovs

Three quarters of the way through the current tour, The Molotovs took to the stage at Birmingham’s O2 Academy 2, offering a preview of their forthcoming release, Welcome to Urbia, due in 2027.

The night was sold out, and I was more than surprised to find out that they were playing in the venue’s smaller room, when they could have easily filled the largest room. It was so busy that people were having to listen to the set from the stairs leading up to the room, pretty much from when the doors opened. This meant that South Street, The Molotovs’ support, got to play to a filled-out room too.

It was clear why South Street were chosen as the support band as soon as they walked out onto stage. Clad in shirts, ties, and suits, the band have created an image for themselves that reflects the ‘60s mods. Although they have only two songs released on Spotify, have already established a fanbase, evident when many of the audience were shouting requests for their song “English Garden,” which hasn’t yet been released.

Since establishing their platform, The Molotovs have faced some criticism regarding their music. Many have accused them of borrowing musical aspects from other bands, which I could in fact recognise during their set. For example, their first song — ‘Johnny Don’t Be Scared’ — had an opening riff that made me initially think they were playing ‘In The City’ by The Jam, while their ‘Daydreaming’ chorus bears more than a passing resemblance to Oasis’ ‘The Girl In The Dirty Shirt’. And of course, I can’t help but agree that ‘Nothing Keeps Her Away’ is similar to ‘Liza Radley’ by The Jam. There’s a fine line between being inspired by other music and blatantly taking progressions or melodies from other musicians. I would rather not hop on the bandwagon and start accusing the duo of doing so, as their potential is so evident in the way that they perform and the crowds that they gather.

Despite this criticism, the band still put on an incredible performance, segueing from their opener straight into ‘Rhythm of Yourself’. These racing guitar riffs and basslines perfectly prepared the crowd for a night of upbeat songs to dance and jump to. The lack of crowd interaction and transitions pushes me to label the band as somewhat perfectionist. It is clear that these shows have been meticulously planned and structured in a way that can effectively keep the audience engaged the whole time, which is further reinforced by the lack of acoustic or slow songs that they play.

The third song they played was our first introduction to the forthcoming Welcome to Urbia. ‘Born in Society’ showed us what to expect from their new music: creative lyricism, hooky instrumentals, and pure catchiness that has taken a slightly different turn from their previously released music. These new songs take on arguably a more political charge than their debut album Wasted On Youth. This was particularly shown when Matt Cartlidge introduced ‘Father Flag’, a song he described as about Brexit, before adding “fuck you to anyone who voted for it.” The angle the band are taking makes clear that they’re not just a rock band, but a punk band.

During the set, we also had ‘Urbia’ played to us, the first single released from their forthcoming album. With the repetitive lyrics of “welcome to Urbia,” it felt as though The Molotovs were addressing the audience directly, as if saying “welcome to our new era.” The song can still be likened to their earlier music, but is starting to shift away to develop a more mature sound, which can be heard through lyrics reminiscing about generational culture, and neat melodies complementing Matt and Issey’s harmonies.

As well as playing new material, the band also played what I would consider some classics, including their debut single ‘More More More’. This was the song that introduced me to The Molotovs maybe two years ago, when it was being played constantly on social media, but wasn’t available to stream anywhere. We were also given ‘Today’s Gonna Be Our Day’ and ‘Newsflash’, which was always a standout song to me before their debut album was released.

To close the main set, the band energetically covered ‘Suffragette City’ by David Bowie, before coming back on for an encore, and slowing down the tempo with ‘Nothing Keeps Her Away’. It gave the crowd the comedown they needed after keeping up with such high energy for nearly an hour.

I don’t believe it’s fair to excessively scrutinise this band for their style of music, when it’s imperative to remember that they’re still so young. They’re at such an early stage of their career that within maybe a year or two, they will have developed a more original sound. But for now, it’s still undeniable that they can put together a great show, and they wouldn’t be celebrating the success they are right now if they weren’t good. This tour has created great anticipation for Welcome To Urbia, released on 9 April 2027, which is already taking them on a different musical trajectory.