Formed in 2017 the oddly named ‘Mollo Rilla’ produce some wonderful noise that isn’t your usual fare, and while some ‘experimental’ outfits can lose you in their sonic clutter, in this case that experimentation is a very good thing indeed. Take some Rock and some Metal, add a little darkness and run with it and see where it takes you…
‘Ego’ starts off with what sounds like church organ before a rolling groove establishes itself and shards of organ and guitar get thrown into the mix, it’s heavy, with a dream-like vocal, and definite accents of Stoner and Groove Rock and Metal. It’s a great introduction to a rather wonderful album. And whilst this is an album that is not too like anything I’ve quite heard before it’s the familiar elements that keep the listener grounded – the elements of melody and the wight of the instruments and hints as I said of not just Stoner Rock and Groove Metal but also something darker and at times rather Gothic, or at least a little dark around the edges.
‘Nightmare’ has a clear Stoner groove, and great searing guitar set against melodic verses that make a great contrast, and ‘Holy Water’ builds nicely and organically with little stabs of old school Rock and Roll that push against the almost religious wail of the vocals that become more agnostic as the stabs come. Then ‘Ghetto Ghoul’ comes across all early Goth and Andi Sexgang with a little jazz and finger clicks just because they can.
It’s an imposing mix and one that you feel could take you in any direction at all. ‘In Dreams’ for example crawls nicely through a morass of eastern-tinged Prog and Folk; whilst ‘Nectar’ offers a Muse-like exposition of silky Goth twilight meanderings; and ‘Gabriel’ brings us back to and almost ‘ambient noir’ ‘lounge Blues’ before the almost accessible sounds of ‘Anthem’ start with a crooning voice and piano and build to a straight rocker built on an almost inexplicable (in this context) Status Quo boogie!
I love the bounce and fire of ‘End Times Preacher’ which just rides a riff to last orders, and again has that ‘Sex Gang Children’ irreverence and Punky gristle; before ‘Flowers’ slow entwined dance and ‘Pyramids’ soft-voiced Punky mash. This is really twisting and turning and ends with the almost ‘Shoegaze’ of ‘Ascension’ and the heavy blunt instrumet that is the wonderful closer ‘Odyssey’.
Take me back to the end of Punk and the experimentation that bubbled in the UK in those early eighties days, this is a reminder of how exciting those times were and how we can have it all again with the benefit of almost 40 years of missed opportunities put to rest. I can’t believe these guys hail from Ohio! Ready the horses we ride West tonight!
Special indeed.