DESCRIPTION:
Artist: Tony Molina
Album: Dissed And Dismissed 12"
Release: 2013
Label: Melters

Tracklist:

1. Nowhere To Go
2. Change My Ways
3. Can't Believe
4. Tear Me Down
5. Nothing I Can Do
6. Sick Ass Riff
7. See Me Through
8. Don't Come Back
9. Spoke Too Soon
10. The Way Things Are
11. Wandering Boy Poet (Guided By Voices)
12. Walk Away

Let me tell you a bit about a friend of mine named Zed. Zed is an old friend who used to live in NYC but moved back out west in order to pursue comedic fame. I hope Zed makes it, though I fear he's too mizunderstood for Hollywood. Zed likes to pester [note: I use this word lovingly] me endlessly to get me into music he must know I have no interest in. Still, he tries incessantly, and you know what, it's worth it because he's introduced me to a few cool things over the years, mainly this 12" by hardcore animal Tony Molina. I guess this is the same person who fronted that sick Caged Animal 7" that also came out this year, which is funny.

Anyway, I've never really paid attention to his old band Ovens or his other current band Violent Change. It took Zed weeks to finally get me to click play on Melters' bandcamp to check out this 12" and I was instantly floored. Tony plays what I'd like to think of as Weezer if Weezer was written by Robert Pollard (which is funny, because Tony covers a Guided by Voices song on here) if Robert Pollard consistently wrote good tunes and not just one out of five. I kid you not, there's no other way to describe it. Each song barely breaks the one-minute mark, if it does at all. Each is practically just verse-chorus-end. Songs are filled to the brim with the catchiest of riffs and hooks, making it 90s alt pop gem after 90s alt pop gem. "Don't Come Back," which is my favorite track, even has a borrowed Gin Blossoms lead in it. Nostalgia (in this case, for the 90s) is a tricky beast, but one of Tony's most understated strengths is his ability to harness it into something warm and comfortable without using it completely as a crutch, as with many revival bands.

It's taken me about four months to write this review, for some reason. Strange, considering I've known what I've wanted to say all along. I'm not happy it's taken this long, but at least I got it out, even if most of this review is about Zed and not Tony. Speaking of which, Tony has a "new" 7" that he's just released on Matador of all places. Crazy! It's not as good as this because it's an older recording, so I let it slide. It's still cool and there's a neat Metallica cover on the b-side. Based on how much better he got on this LP vs. that 7" material, I can only imagine how amazing his next proper release will be!

http://icoulddietomorrow.blogspot.gr/