Tony Molina does more in a matter of minutes than other artists do on albums three times the length of Molina's own releases. His newest, Songs From San Mateo County, drops on Smoking Room on Friday and it is, like anything this guy touches, full of invention and musical verve. It's also, like most of his releases, fairly short. Still, it's darn catchy.
While the "Intro" is a blast of faux metal, it's numbers like "Not The Way To Be" and "Don't See The Point" that allow, however briefly, Tony Molina to make music that sounds a lot like Bandwagonesque-era Teenage Fanclub. Elsewhere, "I'm Not Down" echoes Bob Mould, while the lovely "Word Around Town" should appeal to those who like Evan Dando or Big Star. This is all great stuff, but the tunes are short. As in Robert Pollard-short. The riffs of "Hard To Know" are sharp ones, like on a few selections here, but Molina wisely tries a more gentle approach on "Don't See Me Now", a very brief number that nods in the direction of Chris Bell stuff. Songs From San Mateo County is ridiculously short, I know, but it's superb. To complain about the length when the hooks are this great, and the pop so sharp, would seem churlish.
Songs From San Mateo County is out on Friday via Smoking Room.
[Photo: Uncredited press image]