Hating Baby
© Copyright-Mollie Baxter
(634479242823)
Record Label: Strangebird Records
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*** WEBSITE: www.molliebaxter.co.uk - NEW AND SWISH! ***
Spanning haunting folk to intense acoustic rock, Mollie's songs are varied and full of surprises. Based in Lancaster UK, she has been writing and performing her own material for many years. Now, at 25, Mollie has released two CDs of her material. The first, 'Hating Baby,' is an album length collection of Folk-Pop, full of lush harmonies and beautiful melodies. The single 'Tracy Don't Take Sugar,' released Spring 2002, is darker and more upbeat.
'Not since Suzanne Vega has someone sung this catchily about café liaisons,' wrote one press reviewer.
'I'm not about to settle into a nice consistent sound just yet,' says Mollie, 'Life is full of contradictions for everyone and my music reflects that. I've been called Folk, Pop, Indie, Acoustic, Rock, Brit-Pop, Jazzy ... I believe there is a certain flavour to everything I do - my fingerprint - but there's so much richness out there to draw on, I'd lose so much if I tried to spout it just one way.'
Having said that, there are little trademarks to her style.
'I love doing harmonies - it's my favourite part of the recording, the real playtime. And if there's a story I can't help but return to tell, it's about the balance of pain and joy. 'Hating Baby,' has some pretty heavy stuff going on, but its message is one of survival and, eventually, the joy of difficult times being worth while.
'These are big issues, I know, but I don't take myself too seriously - neither do I ask such of my audience. That's why I poke fun with songs like 'Mememe,' the hidden track on 'Hating Baby,'
'...I'm not self-centred me ... just cuz all the times you've seen me talking 'bout the way I'm feeling doesn't have to really mean I'm self-centred ...'
It's good to introspect, but it's not a way of life!'
There are a number of things on the agenda for the coming year: recording a rock album to build on the success of 'Tracy,' two novelty albums, one of spoof folk songs and another story/music mosaic about the rites of passage of a humble beetle and, to dash it off, studying an MA in Creative Writing.
'I always have a few plates on the spin. Inspiration can be contagious if you get the balance right and don't crowd yourself. It makes it hard to know when things will be finished, but it works out in the end!'
' ... a gorgeous mix of folk-inspired tunes ... beautiful singing voice that makes the hairs on your neck prick up ... it's no wonder she finds herself compared to other contemporary folk-divas like Suzanne vega and Beth Orton ...'
- Morecambe Visitor
'Hating Baby is a fairy-tale for grown-ups'
-Lancaster Guardian
'... deft, haunting and strangely soothing ...'
- Lancaster Citizen
I did my degree in Independent Studies and Creative Writing.
I am currently doing some commission work for a London-based film.
I have a soft spot for pigeons, I can do amazing things with mashed potato and I knit funky tops instead of smoking! It keeps the fingers busy and the end product is a wearable (sometimes) item, rather than asthma and a pile of ash - you heard it here first!
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Enough with the Kate Rusby comparisons already!
author: Milo Black
Another girl singer with an acoustic guitar? Oh, pur-LEASE. That would be an understandable reaction. So why is this different and, therefore, worth your hard-earned dollars?
OK, first, it doesn't sound like it was recorded in a back shed. It's a quality production. Second, Mollie has a voice to die for, especially when she does that ethereal Clannad thing like she does on "Bits of White", the first track. Third, she has good tunes, and doesn't rely on a two note melody over some "chords with numbers in" to make the songs work. That's TUNES, OK? There are even a couple of unaccompanied vocal songs on this CD just to hammer home the point. Fourth, she writes lyrics with edge. She hasn't *quite* written "THE song" that will make her a household name yet - but she's moving in that direction. One of these days.....
Reference points? Maybe Nick Drake's "Five Leaves Left" - just as introspective, but less depressing. Suzanne Vega, but with a Northern British twist, and without the over-obvious "make it commercial" production style. Suzanne Vega would never have gone with the accordians - but they work wonders here. The Beth Orton comparisons aren't valid, in the opinion of this reviewer - chalk and cheese.
And I'm not going to mention Kate Rusby.
Damn!
Listening environment? Listen alone, at a time when you feel that the world is an unfair place to be, and the people in it make your teeth grind. There's enough melancholy here to suit your mood, but enough hope to prevent you from taking the overdose. And that's a neat trick.
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