MOLLY PAYTON
LOTOS
EP: Slack
Album: Renaissance
Molly Payton’s new mini-album follows her
LOTOS’ Renaissance is easy to like but difficult to
breakout, critically acclaimed EP Porcupine.
love. It’s an album packed full of lurching beats,
The release of Slack comes after the refreshingly
sparse ghostly melodies, and growling basslines.
relatable 20-year-old’s return to London after a
The problem is that its devotion to a limited sound
longer than anticipated stint in her New Zealand
palette means that it’s a little one-dimensional to
homeland amidst COVID-19 restrictions.
invite many repeat listens (‘Halal the Beef’ and ‘Missions’ are scarcely distinct). Conversely it’s
New single ‘You Cut Me So Much Slack’, continues
also an album which almost definitely would have
the storyline from first single ‘Honey’, conveying
benefitted from a greater focus on MC LOTOS’
the restless repercussions of communication
light-footed lyrical flow. If you’ve been anticipating
breakdowns. This track missed the cut for Payton’s
this release as a showcase of the undoubtable
first offering but holding it back to showcase her
vocal talents of LOTOS herself then you’ll be
follow-up pays off. The self-reflective offering shifts
disappointed; there’s a fair chunk of other, more
the focus inwards to allow a sense of rawness
ponderous, voices to pick through before you get
and earnestness to run throughout the tracks, from
to the main event. UK garage track ‘The Ends’ is
the reflectively haunting ‘How Things Change’ or
a definite highlight, as is the lively arrangement of
listless yet thrashing ‘While You’re Driving’ to the
‘Boycott’, but overall there’s just not enough of the
anthemic ‘When Skies Were Always Blue’.
eponymous MC in play to make this the essential listen it could have been.
Boasting honest, creative, and evolved song writing,
with
evocative
lyrics
focused
on
accountability, Payton’s acoustic soul incorporates
Renaissance is available to stream now Kenny Lavelle
hints of guitar-heavy folk and rock with a pinch of pop, to reconnect with past problems and process them, allowing her striking voice to find its stride. The EP's 25 minutes nips along engagingly, with the catchy choruses delivered by soaring vocals. This means that the collection is sure to go down a storm when toured later this year, and that you’ll be hitting the replay button to re-revel in its glory once more. Slack is out on 1st October via The Orchard
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Lindsay Corr review@snackmag.co.uk Page 51