Despte being based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, vibrant roots-rock outift THE MOLENES actually have some credible UK indie pedigree in their loins courtesy of the fact their singer/ songwriter/ guitarist Dave Hunter once twanged his thang with Drugstore: a bunch of charismatic shoulda-beens led by the smouldering Isobel Monteiro. If memory serves, they recorded for Go! Discs and supporting the likes of Tindersticks along the way.
Anyway, relocating to his native America has clearly proved a good creative move for Hunter as THE MOLENES' debut album 'This Car Is Big' demonstrates they are evolving very smartly indeed into a first-rate tough'n'tender roots-rock combo.
Opener 'Brand New Yesterday' gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect. It's a rousing, but regretful roots-y rocker with Hunter and instrumental foil Tom Ferry's guitars meshing like a dream, the rhythm section prodding and pushing and a potent lap steel solo flowing like a bottle of vintage bourbon through the song's middle section.
A further brace of yearning, no-nonsense tunes like 'Thousand Candle Glow' and 'Twisted' slide through in its' wake, showcasing Hunter's commandingly world-weary voice and while the ghosts of the Uncle Tupelo/ Son Volt/Long Ryders axis are sometimes only a screen door away, The Molenes are still very much their own men who I'm sure have experienced more than their fair share of the scarred, but unbowed love and loss scenarios their songs describe.
Certainly it's impossible to deny the emotional quality dripping from last gasp tunes like the redemptive 'Flood' with its' hymnal organ and gospel tinges and the poignant 'Barely Beathing' where Hunter forlornly observes: "you turned east as I drove west/ you said I made you feel twice blessed." Both of these show The Molenes can do slow, plangent and devastated with the best of them, while the easy swing and well-crafted hooks of the sneaky, love-cheatin' 'Two Doors Down' finds a burgeoning pop sensibility bubbling to the surface to ensure options remain open.
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Nonetheless, The Molenes can never resist the lure of a cranked up Marshall for too long and it's here they often score, not least when the ramp up the heaviosity on the nagging and dirty 'Might Have Done', break out the dissatisfaction on 'Stinking Town' - where a starcrossed Hunter admits "it all comes down to a deep, dark hole in the cold, cold ground/ I seem to find trouble where it can't be found" - or let out the throttle in fine style for the fire'n'brimstone, cult-dissing 'Chapel of The Crass Unholy Men'.
So, while 'This Car Is Big' may be seen as something of a stylistic volte-face for those who recall Dave Hunter as the man in black in Drugstore, it's patently obvious that this is where his heart(land) lies. With The Molenes, he's hitched up with a gang of sympathetic, well-chosen road buddies and if they can keep pace with the volatile brilliance of this debut, indie rock's loss will most definitely be Americana's gain.
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