Wait, what?

This might feel like a cheat. Maybe. I know these posts under the umbrella tag “The Sheffield Years” celebrate some of the many bands I saw while living in Sheffield. Bands that made it, bands that burnt out, bands that never quite achieved flight.

So, why Molly Anna? Why place a band like this in this nostalgia-ridden piece? Because nostalgia is good. Nostalgia can help us re-evaluate the past. It also can negate the future. How many times have any of us missed something good because we were looking back? I think I have done so, many, many times.

From the ashes of Young Peculiar came Molly Anna. Bernadette Dales had a healthy amount of lyrics and started recording with Michael Hukins. This became the Ghosts EP (our strange review, based on a dream) and now it’s a fully formed unit that slowly is seeping through peoples’ ears and minds. The Tori Amos meets Incubus sensibilities, the confessional lyrics, the Nirvana covers! Maybe this one will stick around for a while. Maybe it won’t. I might pick this up further down the line, when we all are dead and come back as cats. I’ll call it The Sheffield Years II: Electric Boogaloo!

ANYWAYS, I bamboozled an interview out of Bernadette Tales while talking about Jefferson Airplane and Tesco sandwiches…

So, how did Molly Anna began?

I started Molly Anna back in 2015 – my old band had broken up and I was writing some new songs I wanted to put out. They were all about a character I created who burns her house down to escape her problems and starts a new life somewhere. I decided to call her Molly Anna.

Molly Anna‘s been a full live band since January 2016 – and we’re writing more music together now. Our current line up is electric guitar (Mike), bass (Tim), drums (Adam) keys and synth (Ben) and me, obvs!

Name a few of the influences, for the newcomers? I want to guess Tori Amos, but it’s too early and I need coffee…

Tori Amos is a good shout! Also Incubus, Nirvana… Kinda stuck in the decade I was born in apparently.

We all are. So, I’m enjoying the covers you’ve done. Jefferson Airplane, Nirvana…. would you consider a covers album in the future?

We do love doing a good cover. But I think we’ll stick to YouTube videos for those and our live shows.

Heard about new music coming your way, anything you’d want to share with us?

Yeah! We’ve been writing some new tracks and we even have a single coming out soon called ‘Louder’. I can’t share it with you yet but I’ll send it as soon as it’s ready. You can catch it at our live shows too.

All lyrics are by you, then? Always thought your name was a play on Pollyanna. 

Yeah, they are! And that did cross my mind. I like that it sounds like Pollyanna.

A less optimistic Pollyanna

Ha ha, exactly!

I resemble that remark. Don’t resent it, though. Thanks! 

Emotional lyrics. Pleasing sounds. A clear cut mission. Sounds like we’ll keep an eye on this one.

Words: Sam J. Valdés López