If you just so happened to miss the debut album by Bay Area punk vet Tony Molina last year, don't stress. Dissed and Dismissed was only released on a run of 500 vinyl copies, and only really survived thanks to Molina's Bandcamp page. But word spread enough that Matador commissioned an EP for their singles club (the Six Tracks EP) and Slumberland not only agreed to reissue the album, but also offered to release its follow-up.
Having cut his teeth on the Bay Area hardcore scene, Tony Molina is used to keeping songs tight and terse. While that seems the norm for hardcore, his solo tunes are actually sweet, fuzzed out power pop gems that average a minute apiece. D&D flies by in the span of only a dozen minutes, but that's the fun part.
By trimming all the fat (verses, choruses), Molina's unique approach might come off as a novelty, but he crams more succulent hooks into the 42-second "See Me Through" than Weezer could in one of theirs six times that long. However, the song does smack of Rivers Cuomo's style, much like the equally brief "Spoke Too Soon" recalls Teenage Fanclub's Grand Prix.
You can argue Molina's sound isn't particularly original and even quite same-y at times, but what he lacks there he makes up for with his ear for beguiling melodies. He really can write a song, and the fact that it never wears out its welcome makes his music damn enjoyable.
(Slumberland)Having cut his teeth on the Bay Area hardcore scene, Tony Molina is used to keeping songs tight and terse. While that seems the norm for hardcore, his solo tunes are actually sweet, fuzzed out power pop gems that average a minute apiece. D&D flies by in the span of only a dozen minutes, but that's the fun part.
By trimming all the fat (verses, choruses), Molina's unique approach might come off as a novelty, but he crams more succulent hooks into the 42-second "See Me Through" than Weezer could in one of theirs six times that long. However, the song does smack of Rivers Cuomo's style, much like the equally brief "Spoke Too Soon" recalls Teenage Fanclub's Grand Prix.
You can argue Molina's sound isn't particularly original and even quite same-y at times, but what he lacks there he makes up for with his ear for beguiling melodies. He really can write a song, and the fact that it never wears out its welcome makes his music damn enjoyable.