Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There are some artists who give off the impression that they are the epitome of the wolf, an easy guise to adopt in a world which seeks out the characteristics of such an animal, mean, moody and magnificent, loyal and one that will stop at nothing till the quarry has been tracked down and exhausted. We celebrate such attributes because they are the rock staple, the never say quit attitude, the song they sing is both terrifying and beautiful; sometimes though we listen to the wrong song and we find that the wolf we have embraced is actually covered in wool,
The true lone wolf is like the truth, it hangs around waiting for the fire of lies to go out and then pounces, tears the preconceptions apart and looks steely eyed at the situation in hand; it is the emotion and the state of accuracy, of captivating reality that Mollie Marriott brings to her debut solo album Truth Is A Wolf.
To compare the past and the present is a dangerous occupation and often best avoided, what should be noted instead is just how precise Ms. Marriott is with her range, her cool demeanour is elegant and swift, the lone wolf strides through the forest of lies, half truths and the economical fairy story and sends shivers down the spine as she sings against the backdrop of the moon; the fur bristling with excitement and the smell of the unworried sheep in her nostrils.
Truth Is A Wolf is patient, aggressive, purposeful, and unrelenting in its pursuit of the woolly sainted and the anointed lamb, it is an album in which stories are told and the overwhelming Rock attitude is punched out again and again. It is also a set of songs which the illustrious of her background, of the D.N.A. which sees the wolf understand its terrain better that the unprepared back-packers and walkers who do not respect the rules of the deep forest.
In tracks such as Control, the album title track, Transformer, My Heaven Can Wait and the exceptionally balanced and observant Fortunate Fate, Ms. Marriott, aided by musicians such as the brilliant Dean Tidey, Alex Reeve, the genius of Paul Weller and Rachel Dawson, leads her own way out of the forest, and walks proudly out in the open; she is seen against the backdrop of the moon and the sun with full appreciation, the songs she sings enough to reassure that the wolf is always with us.
Mollie Marriott releases Truth Is A Wolf on 3rd November 2017 via Amadeus Music.
Ian D. Hall