{"product_id":"molly-picturesque","title":"MOLLY - Picturesque","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAustrian duo MOLLY return with their second album, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ePicturesque\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e, via Sonic Cathedral. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe album’s seemingly brief tracklisting belies a work of great beauty and depth, and one which turned into a one-man crusade for singer\/guitarist Lars Andersson, intertwining deeply personal stories with his love for the era of Romanticism. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e“Every time I go to a museum and I’m about to pass through the era of Romanticism I stop in awe,”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e says Lars of the enduring appeal of the 18th century artistic movement. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e“Whatever it is – stories, paintings, music – it triggers something deep within me, something profoundly human. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIt really hits a nerve, and it utterly immerses me to a point where I can’t move.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe album replicates this feeling; a gloriously over-the-top blend of Slowdive and Sigur Rós, mixed with the single-mindedness of Daniel Johnston and the noisiness of Nirvana, it’s as bold and beautiful and every bit as ornate as the art that inspired it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eUnlike their acclaimed debut, 2019’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAll That Ever Could Have Been\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e, which gradually came into focus with a 15-minute opening track, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ePicturesque\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e hits home from the very first note of the short and sweet opener, ‘Ballerina’. That’s not to say there aren’t epics here – ‘Metamorphosis’ is essentially a 12-minute suite of three movements; blistering closer ‘The Lot’ is 11 minutes of Swans-inspired heaviness – but everything is much more direct and focused. This isn’t an album to lose yourself in, it’s one to get swept away by.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e“‘More is more’ was definitely the credo when making this record,”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e agrees Lars. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e“A big inspiration were bands like Pond and the way they manage to fill their songs up with stuff to the absolute maximum. While I definitely tried to give the listener some room to breathe at certain points and while, in good old post-rock fashion, it still builds up and breaks down, it relies much more on simple melody and harmony as opposed to noisy experimentation to transport feeling.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eNever more so than on the first single, ‘The Golden Age’, which is the album’s centre-piece; a soaring slice of über-shoegaze that is so stunning you can’t take your eyes or ears off it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eLike all the songs on the album, it’s based around a fairy-tale from the Romantic era. In this case, it’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eHeinrich von Ofterdingen\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e by the German poet, author and philosopher Novalis (other influences are: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe Steadfast Tin Soldier\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e by Hans Christian Andersen; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe Seven Ravens\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eHans in Luck\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e by the Brothers Grimm; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eUndine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe Golden Pot\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e by E.T.A. Hoffmann), with Lars drawing parallels between the titular character’s mystical and romantic searchings and his own personal quest.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThis is apt as the album has been an overriding obsession for Lars for the past two-and-a-half years; as well as writing and recording the songs (bandmate Phillip Dornauer played drums), he also mixed and mastered them at his Alpine Audio studio and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ePicturesque\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e is very much his Brian Wilson or Kevin Shields moment. MOLLY were in the middle of their European tour when Covid hit in early 2020, forcing Lars to retreat back to his home outside Innsbruck and giving him time and space to think about every detail of the record.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e“Well, I was on a quest I guess,”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e he admits. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e“Like everyone, I was stranded at home and at some point I just said to myself, ‘If not now, then when?’ It was an intense process. I’ve worked on music from other bands and artists before but producing and mixing your own music is an utterly different animal. It was probably the most intense thing I’ve ever done, but it was also incredibly rewarding and the feeling of it all coming together piece by piece is incomparable.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe artwork is just as effective. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e“I think of Radiohead’s OK Computer – what you hear on the record is what you see on the cover,”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e explains Lars. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e“We were inspired by what we call ‘wimmelbilder’ [hidden pictures] in German, a very specific style in art where there are a lot of little things happening. When you see it from further away, it looks organic like a lost painting from the area of Romanticism, but the closer you look the more digital it gets. It’s a nice analogy.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eHe’s right, it perfectly sums up the conflict between Romanticism and 21st century life. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e“Romanticism was basically an answer to the Industrial Revolution as well as the social and political norms of the Age Of Enlightenment,” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003econcludes Lars. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e“Now, we all live in a much more industrialised, materialistic, individualistic and sterile society than any early Romanticist could have ever possibly imagined. Over 200 years later the Romanticists have lost the battle.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eWith the divine and downright pulchritudinous \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ePicturesque\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e, MOLLY begin the fightback.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDinked Edition:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe “Dark Romanticism” edition, on midnight blue vinyl *\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExclusive metallic blue artwork *\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGatefold sleeve\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eObi-strip *\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e12” x 24” fold-out glossy print *\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLimited pressing of 400\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e*EXCLUSIVE to Dinked Edition\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"South Records Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Dinked LP","offer_id":64322973958521,"sku":null,"price":10.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0973\/1463\/6153\/files\/packshot.jpg?v=1787904309","url":"https:\/\/vinyl-relic.com\/products\/molly-picturesque","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}