When Molly Martin stepped onstage at Third Man Records, she was donning an iconic nun habit to help celebrate her debut album Mary. Reminiscent of early Smashing Pumpkins, Land of Talk, and the swagger of the Pretenders, Mary is a collection of songs that spotlights the honest truth of her experience before and after quitting drinking. The 8 songs teeter-totter back and forth between a buttoned-up Mary and dressed-down Molly, hinting at everything from self-hatred to sexual assault. The striking imagery of using that specific costume has sparked controversy, while for others, helped to resonate her message home.
“It’s interesting if I think of the evolution of style for me. It’s really only been in the last three to four years that I’ve really become clear about my style. When I look at freshman year of high school, the first day I’m wearing an American Eagle fucking flower skirt and buttoned down shirt. I don’t know whose secretary I was trying to be,” Molly laughs.
She grew up in Philadelphia and even when Molly entered college, she still didn’t fully understand what style really was. But the distinction between show clothes and day clothes was easy. Deep down she understood that performing was meant to be an elevated experience from her everyday life. It was the chance to be a larger version of yourself to help support the songs about her existence.
When Molly moved to Nashville in 2016, the fashion rubbed off on her. This lead to more denim, very Americana style of clothes filling her closet. Nashville morphed her look into a work wear, rock and roll denim vibe that appears slouchy, but always has well-fitted pants. Although many consider the city to the country capital of the world, Nashville has actually become a mix of western boho with a very casual vibe. Denim remains the core staple of every outfit, from blue jean jackets to even denim cowboy boots and hats.
“I call my everyday style bisexual carpenter energy, with Carhartt t-shirts and work wear vintage jackets.
-Molly Martin
Clicking play on the music videos for “I Know You Think That It's Not You” and “I Like Losers”, the nun’s costume makes a bold statement. Tying in the cover art of her debut album, Molly discloses that Mary is actually her birth name. This remains very strange as Molly doesn’t feel like a Mary. That play on the dichotomy of names is the starting point for the album. In this case, Molly is that sassy take on an old Catholic imagery wearing the Molly of her Mary.
In all of the songs, the feeling of being pushed and pulled at the same time carries through. She’s holding two truths at the same time, inherently writing about her own lived experiences, which are inherently complex. There’s a navigation of opposing ideas, a black and white contrast that is symbolized in that nun trope. Molly executes this in a very playful way in all the visuals with the album and music videos.
One of those complexities that Molly has dealt with is her sexuality. She had a more colorful profile until she was in college, but looking back, it’s easy to connect the dots.
“Oh girlfriend, you weren’t trying to impress your camp counselor because you wanted to be their friend,” Molly smirks.
There was a push and pull to that as well, especially with growing up in the suburbs with divorces parents at a young age. She learned to chameleon into the environment, going back and forth to different houses and parents. Even though she had the same friends from elementary school to high school, she always felt very different from them. Molly admits that the feeling of not fitting in and feeling strange is what compels every artist into creating things. We all want to build and create something to be seen in the ways that we haven’t ever felt.
Growing up in a Catholic family, it informed the way that her parents existed and viewed the world. Although that’s bound to seep into parts of Molly, there’s another viewpoint and direction she wanted to explore in self-expression. That struggle with trying to fit in while not really knowing who she was, builds on that tug of war within her.
When knowing this background, the music video for “I Know You Think That It’s Not You” holds a lot more weight. It starts with an expert rendition of the Droste effect, which was named after a Dutch brand of cocoa with an image designed by Jan Misset in 1904. Eerily, the first use of this effect featured a nurse carrying a serving tray wearing a similar nun-ish outfit with black and white with a red background. It’s a clever use of the effect that expands that visual into that struggle with what we’re told and what we want to hear.
The video flickers between images of Molly sitting in different environments, grappling with her situations. In the bigger picture of the song, the message is directed towards “all the women that have felt the weight of the patriarchy try to kill the light inside of them and refusing to die.”
Taking the stage at 7th Street Entry, all the details of her music were there in small ways. Her guitar was labeled with a ‘dumb bitch’ sticker, and that bisexual carpenter energy was on full display.
Her jeans are from Nashville-based Imogene and Willie, given to her when she played at South by Southwest. The tight neon-green vintage shirt was given to her on tour by a random person they stayed with. It features a beaver on the front with the collar whacked off.
The chunky black platform boots make her feel powerful by being a little taller and elevated. She wears them all the time as it adds to the energy of the music. Peering closely, her gold necklace is of a sideways pointed gemstone, like that continued metaphor of having two sides that push and pull you.
Molly is definitely a thrift person and doesn’t update her clothing very often. But when on tour, she is always open to collecting little pieces here and there. Sometimes that means a shirt or cool pair of pants, but there’s a loyalty to the things she likes wearing first.
When asking about her influences from a musical and stylistic way, Molly only had one answer.
“
I think my answer for everything, whether it's musical or fashion, is just Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders. I just think anything fucking cool and British, I'm like, fuck yeah. I just think she's the goddamn coolest with just that seventies core kind of punk rock.”
-Molly Martin
When taking the stage, Molly wants the energy to match what she’s wearing. It’s important to look like an elevated version of herself on stage for the respect of the audience. She’s there to authentically perform for people and if she’s up there in her regular clothes, it feels lazy.
“There’s something about getting into character, knowing I’m here to give something of myself. I want to be in the energy of how I want to feel when I perform, which is confidence with intensity.”
Molly’s performance at 7th Street Entry was filled with that swagger and mojo. “I Like Losers” was instantly relatable as it’s an ode about falling in love with the worst guys, over and over again. Her own self-awareness of this pattern allows her to mock it in a really clever way.
Abuse takes hold with her performance of “Love Me / Hate Me”, sharing how the feeling between the two can feel like the same. Her lyrics seesaw back and forth with the acknowledgement of the situation she’s in, while beckoning for help.
Watching Molly on stage fills the spectrum of her music as well. Her scowl spitting out the aggressive lines with her dancing feels laced with angst. The emotions of her past so poignantly expressed, now therapeutically placed under hot lights and dark stages.
“Motel 6” is the happiest feeling track of the new album even through it still has the grungiest imagery of a motel’s kid-pissed pool. It provides a glimpse of hope in the future and uncovering what you want.
“I want to live in a Motel 6
Drink like it’s a vacation every night
I want to swim in a pool full of kids
Even when they’re pissing in the deep end
I’m just waiting on permission to start living.”
When you have as strong of a debut release as Mary, and filled with as much mojo as you can pack in a cuffed pair of jeans, then the enjoyment of following that journey as a fan is huge. Her shows are an authentic expression of struggles and evolved admissions straight from her life. Molly’s shows are a camaraderie of venting observed bad behavior and empowering you in taking back your voice. Our opportunity arrives on November 1st when Molly returns and claims the headlining spot at the Turf Club.
Check out the links below for ways to follow Molly Martin and all the topics we mentioned above.
Molly Martin Website - Instagram - YouTube - Imogene and Willie - Droste effect
