Confront The Truth, by Tony Molina

Confront The Truth

by Tony Molina

supported by

mount elie if i could live in the riff at 0:21 for the rest of my life i would Favorite track: Banshee.

Levrikon If 'Dissed and Dismissed' mined '70s power pop for its influences, 'Confront the Truth' is working in a '60s framework. Molina is flexing his inner Lennon and it makes for a soft, gorgeous contemplative album without a wasted second. Favorite track: Hung Up On The Dream.

Joseph Prat Tony Molina makes the Beatles look like chumps and he could out shred them any day. Favorite track: Banshee.

chase of the concrete internet jungle thumbnail

more...

	/

Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Tony's best? Maybe, and now it's back on vinyl, this time on classic 12" black vinyl.

Includes unlimited streaming of Confront The Truth via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

Purchasable with gift card

$14 USD or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$5 USD or more

1.	Lisa's Song 00:50		buy track
2.	I Don't Want To Know 00:52		buy track
3.	Old Enough To Know 01:07		buy track
4.	No One Told He 02:28		buy track
5.	Hung Up On The Dream 01:22		buy track
6.	See Me Fall 01:02		buy track
7.	Over Now 00:53		buy track
8.	Banshee 01:26	info	buy track

about

In the interest of brevity, Tony Molina speaks a plain truth rarely considered by modern musicians. He's not going to waste your time pontificating on sentimentality when he knows the very sentiments that power his music will stay with you long after the songs end. The West Bay guitarist's background in hardcore, metal, and punk lends itself to this concept -- imagine if Crossed Out or No Le$$ were on some Lennon-McCartney or George Harrison or early Bee Gees shit, inventing a mode of sincere, world-beating pop expression and concentrating it into a span of seconds. That's what's happening here -- a resourcefulness that is typically at odds with the kind of guitar mastery you'll hear within.

You could fit the contents of Tony's previous releases on Slumberland and Matador onto one side of a 90-minute cassette and still have room left over for the eight offerings on "Confront the Truth," but would you want it any other way? When Tony sings about "trying to move on but I just don't know how," no extension of the time it takes for him to bring that feeling across is going to solve the problem at hand. You're immediately thrust into the orbit of these songs; you know how he feels, and now you can relate. Transference is complete. You've got plenty of time left over to dwell upon them.

The eight offerings on "Confront the Truth" notch a significant advancement in his style and approach. Almost completely absent from these new songs are the overloaded guitar crunch of "Dissed and Dismissed," or his earlier work with Ovens; it's replaced by gentle acoustic balladry, tasteful Mellotron and piano backing, the kind of musicianship that often takes a lifetime to master. The sadness of this music has precedents in pop's past; Tony's revelatory turn into specific traditions of pop music speak directly to the reasons why we love music in general, and what keeps our finest players driven to create. The repertoire from which he draws may be narrow, but in these songs, you hear exactly what Tony found in those influences that shaped his experience; years upon years of focus and isolation in developing his guitar skills to speak to these truths. The main difference here is that where Tony's previous works felt casual and easy to digest, here we feel the full weight of his emotional needs pressed against the gentlest and most careful music of his career.

I'll paraphrase myself here, from something I wrote about Tony's old band, Ovens, which applies here as well: the music is at once what I believe to be the quintessential encapsulation of the turmoil of West Coast youth. Hang out by the ocean on a beautiful day, land that trick you’ve been practicing on your skateboard for months, but you’re still bummed; the struggle to achieve balance without means in a place where you’re told you’re lucky to be informs every second of these songs. That the pain turns inwards -- lamentations on relationships that are over for good -- proves to be as much a condition of the environment as it is the mindset with which it aligns. The record's coda, a highlight reel of Thin Lizzy's "Banshee," indicates that the Tony you knew is still in there, but the game has changed, and the rules are entirely his own. Tony Molina is in complete control of his own destiny, and we should all care about where he's going.

Doug Mosurock, a fan first and a friend forever
August 2016

credits

released October 28, 2016

Recorded and mastered by Jack Shirley at Atomic Garden, Palo Alto, 650 except "Banshee" recorded at Turk & Taylor by Sean Hewitt. Anthony OBC played Hammond organ and bass guitar on "No One Told He." Blaine Patrick played drums on "No One Told He."

license

about

Tony Molina San Francisco, California

shows

Oct 15

Comet Ping Pong

Washington, DC

contact / help

Contact Tony Molina

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Tony Molina, you may also like:

In The Store
by The Lost Days

supported by 94 fans who also own “Confront The Truth”

It’s Tony Molina. That should be enough to buy it now. But if it’s not, it’s Tony with a great female voice. This album is 13 minutes of perfection that makes you want 13 more. Not familiar with Sara but I am going to go buy what I can now. Reminds me of good 90s Ben Lee, Yo La Tengo, Smudge style songs, which is great. This record had great songwriting, great harmonies, and great production. IF they decide too, this band could be huge. Either way I will buy what they release. HFDB
go to album
Summer At Land's End
by The Reds, Pinks & Purples

supported by 62 fans who also own “Confront The Truth”

This music makes me feel good. Chimey and wonderful, like slo-mo dancing in a meadow on a beautiful summer evening. audient_lang
go to album
Uncommon Weather
by The Reds, Pinks & Purples

supported by 61 fans who also own “Confront The Truth”

Very difficult to choose a favourite track! An amazing band, amazing sound Overskadovers
go to album
Naming EP
by Kid Trails

Kid Trails returns with a new EP of breezy indiepop, full of watery guitars and gently-weaving vocals. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 29, 2018
go to album
dark / gold
by SOAR

A vocal-forward and very fuzzy indie pop debut from the Bay Area. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 15, 2017
go to album
Yucca Street
by Alexei Shishkin

Forged Artifacts announce the sophomore release, available on limited gold cassette, from lo-fi Portlander Alexei Shishkin. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 12, 2016
go to album
Hunger for a Way Out
by Sweeping Promises

supported by 55 fans who also own “Confront The Truth”

Can't listen w/o hearing Young Marble Giants, but a more nervous, taut take. All the tracks are great, but can't stop humming the title to myself. Josh Steichmann
go to album