ALL ABOARD THE MOLOTOVS FREIGHT TRAIN! INTERVIEW WITH MATT & ISSEY CARTLIDGE
Whilst my lock down crocheting projects sit somewhere in a cupboard, siblings Matt and Issey Cartlidge did something a little more worthwhile and longstanding during the pandemic, forming their rock band The Molotovs. The band, now six years deep, has not stopped, with the release of their first record Wasted on Youth on 30th January this year, an arena supporting slot with Yungblud and their biggest headline tour yet on the horizon, there’s clearly “no rest for the wicked”, as Issey puts it.
I managed to grab a chat with the band in between rehearsals for their appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, to talk about all things tour, grassroots, upcoming projects, and just exactly what The Molotovs’ good word is.
Their pre-emptive Wasted on Youth tour marked a pivotal point for the duo, as their last live shows without an album out. But best believe, the crowds were still up and wild.
Matt: “It was like a great haze of a month for me, just like playing every night, sometimes twice a day, yeah, things like that.
“Just meeting loads of our fans and just doing up to the album, the fact that this is gonna be the last tour ever, where we have no record out.”
Issey: “It was 36 gigs, 36 days and we went all around the country and to places that we hadn’t been before, places we hadn’t played.
“We were really surprised as well, places that we didn’t think people would turn out where a mass did. You know, Aylesbury, there was a big turnout there.
Bristol as well where we had a big, old kind of turnout for us at Thekla, so the boat was rocked.”
Knackered or not, the band aren’t stopping for a beat to even entertain the idea of a break with Issey saying “all that sort of stuff goes back into the music”.
Issey: “This isn’t something that’s just a hobby or profession for us, or anything synonymous for work.
“It might sound a little bit cliche, but it’s a lifestyle.”
Matt: “Also, I’m sorry but it’s so fucking hard to make it. What’s the point in having a break, you know what I mean?
“You’re never gonna get there if you’re sitting on your arse going on holiday, we haven’t had a holiday in 6 years, but that’s just the way it’s gonna be.
“If you want to make it, you’ve got to dedicate yourself, and at the end of day we’re really dedicated and really like what we’re doing.”
Issey: “Strike while the iron’s hot.”
Matt: “We wouldn’t fuck it up, we’ve only made one record, and it’s only gone to No.3.
“We wouldn’t go to kick back our feet-
Issey: “Get a lovely tan –
Matt: “Ah, yeah I need a lie down, and I’ve only made one record.”
Personally, I’ve never had a record go to No.3 on the Official UK Album Charts but if I did, I think I’d be pretty chuffed. But The Molotovs’ want more, and whilst they aren’t necessarily gunning for a top chart spot, they want more people involved in their music.
Issey: “It obviously means so much when we’ve been around for 6 years, playing 600 gigs. Each one of those gigs, picking up a different person each time and seeing these people face to face, these fans built in actual venues rather than just online.
“We want to play more festivals, bigger gigs around the world, travel with this band, you know? Make more music and just continue doing what we love, really.
“It means a lot when you get to something like number three, but we want to spread The Molotovs’ good word and get out there and play to more people.”
Matt: “We’re striving and spreading the good word for youth unity, more than anything.
“With music and fashion, everyone’s gonna have their different sort of thing, and outlook on politics and all the rest of it. But an understanding of each other-
Issey: “More compassion.”
Matt: “Yeah, more compassion, less bad judgement.”
Issey: “And tolerance, I think everyone there’s a big feeling of pessimism in the UK at the moment.
“People feel disillusioned, and there’s a lot of disunity, and we want to bring people together.
“One thing that the UK’s always had is this kind of soft power when it comes to culture. Whether it’s film, literature, art, and especially music, and we need to recognise that a little bit more.
“Especially young people, they need to feel a confidence, a swagger, and find their tribe. A great place for that to happen is live music venues, and during grassroots scenes.
“I’m not saying that everyone gets into guitar music and comes to our gigs, but whatever it is for you, you gotta go find it, but we have had that within our own gigs.
“We set up our own all ages event in London, and those were extremely successful, called Youth Explosion.
“All these kids that had never really got into guitar music before, weren’t exposed to it, were suddenly dressing like us, getting into it and learning about all the bands that we were into. People just really fed off of it.
“It just shows that there’s a hunger for this, and music can bring us a lot more together.”
Amongst a mishmash of TikTok hyper pop, which I am partial too, The Molotovs offer a punkish, mod confidence in their music, and want to share their love for Britain’s musical legacy with younger generations.
Matt: “I wouldn’t call us a punk band, I think we’re closer to mod. But it’s evolved, the fashion and everything around it, the ideology, is different from what it was in the 60s.
“We’ve got 60 years of pop music to reflect on, and we can almost carry on what they started and put our own thing on it, and that’s the great thing.
“We’re showing that to young people, and hopefully they do the same.”
Issey: “But even punk, anything was an attitude It was giving people power, feeling like they had agency.
“This is music that feels accessible. You can get involved and that’s brilliant. The DIY nature of it, that’s always a positive, something we strive for.
“But also that kind of balls the walls, devil cares kind of attitude. That’s what we want to bring, as well, to our stage performance.”
Although hailing from London, the band feel a calling to nurture the grassroots, especially rural venues in the country. With their dad growing up in Scunthorpe, these smaller-on-paper venues mean a lot to them.
Issey: “You say about Hull, one of my favourite bands of all time are The Housemartins, who are obviously from Hull and so, one of my dream venues to play is The Adelphi.
“My dad would talk about how they had something like the Scunthorpe Rocks Festival there, and the Boomtown Rats headline one year, The Housemartin’s the next.
“There was a real focus on uplifting regional towns, it wasn’t just big city focus, but that’s what we now have.
“We don’t want our gigs to feel London centric, and then for people to feel ostracised, and that they can’t be part of it.”
Matt: “I mean look back in the day, like, all these bands like The Clash, The Jam, The [Sex] Pistols, when they were going on tour, they were playing every fucking place.”
Issey: “You gotta have grassroots scenes in all these kinds of pockets and for young people to be inspired by the people around them and their peer groups.
“They don’t have to feel like they’ve got to be part of, or wish that they were born into a different life, to do what they are talented and enthusiastic about.”
But what are the dream venues for The Molotovs? Be warned, there’s quite a jump.
Matt: “Scunthorpe Baths. That’s where dad liked to swim and it’s now a gig venue.
“I do want to do the Corn Exchange in Cambridge,because everyone’s played there, every band I like has played the Corn Exchange.
“Madison Square Garden, our dads a big boxing fan. I know it’s not really a UK one, but its sort of a dream to do.”
Issey: “It’s great when we go around, and we play these small venues, and we find places that we’ve never would have found out about.
“There’s this great, like, 100 cap in Ramsgate, Ramsgate Music Hall. It’s so well looked after such a neat, kooky little venue, that’s brilliant. Obviously, Thekla in Bristol, that’s a great venue.”
Matt: “I know we’re just talking about like grassroots, venues, and all the rest of it, but The River Plate stadium in Argentina, that would be mad.”
The feeling for next year is intense excitement, with promises of new music, big attitude and even bigger milestones.
Matt: “We’re in the process of making our next album, which a lot of people can’t believe, ’cause we’ve only just put out our first. But that’s happening and we’re looking to record April/May time.
“The big milestone for us, obviously Yungblood will be amazing, but later this year, in September, we’re embarking on our biggest UK tour to date.
“We’re selling 5000 tickets in London, we’ve already put on one night at the Kentish Town Forum and we’re doing another.”
Issey: “This time we’re not gonna compromise. We feel more streamlined as a band.
“You know, we kind of know what we want to say, what we want to do with this.
“And you’re more people that connect with it, get on board, you know, get on The Molotovs freight train, the better.”
Matt: “We’ve got even more attitude than before.
Issey: “I think we’ve got more fire in our belly this time.
“With the last album,we wanted to really get our foot in the door and say we’re here, plant that flag in the soil.”
Matt: “We’re able to just, do our thing, and if you don’t like it…fuck off basically. We’re not making music for people who just want to whine and just hate on every band.”
Issey: “Be positive-”
Matt: “That is me being positive! People should also stop spreading loads of hate online about bands. It’s so easy nowadays, ’cause everyone’s got a mouth and some fingers so, well actually not everyone’s got fingers, but everyone can go on social media and spread a load of rubbish.”
Issey: “You’re spreading a load of rubbish.”
Matt: “No, it’s not rubbish, but I don’t want young people being negative towards each other, we talk loads about unity amongst the youth.”
The Molotovs are a reminder of why grassroots music matters. With a second album already in the works and their biggest tour to date on the horizon, the “Molotovs freight train” is moving at full speed. Catch them on their Welcome to Urbia tour this September, or on one of their many upcoming festival slots – including Liverpool’s Sound City – while you can.
