I have, to my shame, only heard one song by Molly Gone Mad before this album landed in the review pile, and it is the opener ‘Got To Go,’ which acts as the perfect album place for me to start my fuller learning curve; its gentle blend of intricate funk bass and lilting soul weaves, understated and deft, the perfect sonic toe in the musical water moment. And, of course, I’m here to find out what comes next, and what comes next proves that this one single is not some outlier to front-load an album with, far from it. (But I think I knew that would be the case.)
‘Pass Out,’ which follows, is even more chilled, a delicate, modern neo-soul groover, but with plenty of musical moves and creative things going on, things that are happy to sway and lilt and seduce and sensate whilst doing so in the most unobtrusive and obvious of ways.
And even when Modern World heads into more upbeat territory, such as with ‘Sweet Release ‘, the music is still happy to cocoon the listener rather than charge all over the place to create an impression; this is music for dancing at 3 am, shoes off, rug pulled back, low volume, lights dimmed.
‘Come Home To My Love’ takes the classic 50’s vocal group vibe and wraps it in modern ambient shimmer and soulful sensitivity; ‘Attention!’ is uncharacteristically in your face – how can it not be with such a title (it has an exclamation mark and everything!); ‘Drunk’ is hip-hoppy and fun, and the bonus jam, ‘Can’t Wait ‘, is a soft, soulful, seductive and sensual way to round things off.
As great as the music is, it’s the sense of optimism that speaks volumes. The songs might be arrayed against all the usual concerns of the Modern World, – climate anxiety, technological upheaval, war, social fragmentation and the relentless pace of modern life – but the songs always suggest that the answer is found in the most obvious of places – love and longing and connection and compassion, empathy and emotion.
Why do we keep forgetting such a simple truth?
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