The Molotovs and the Revival of Gig Culture

The Molotovs performing at Gorilla, Manchester on the third night of their Wasted On Youth tour.

On the day of the release of their new single Get A Life and on the eve of the first date of their Wasted On Youth tour promoting their debut album of the same name I spoke with Issey and Mathew about momentum ambition and what comes next.

2025 was a huge year for you marked by a lot of number ones. What do you really want to see in 2026?

Mathew: “I want to see us really blow up. I want to see our debut album get at least top ten in the charts. Have the tours and gigs get bigger. Just that sort of thing.”

Those ambitions are quickly becoming reality. The tour is rapidly selling out. Hype around the debut album continues to build and praise has arrived from influential figures in rock most notably Paul Weller. The band will also support Yungblud on his upcoming arena tour including a date at the O2 Arena bringing their live impact to audiences in the hundreds of thousands.

So Get A Life has just been released. How has the response been so far?

Mathew: “From what I’ve seen people are really digging it and some are saying it’s their favourite song.”

Having heard Get A Life ahead of its release it works perfectly as an opener carrying the responsibility of setting the tone for what follows. It reflects Mathew’s confidence echoing his comments to Rolling Stone about ignoring low-level negativity while quietly building momentum over several years. The Wasted On Youth journey has only just begun but if the quality remains this high it will be hard to look away.

Your new tour starts tomorrow. What can people expect and how does it differ from the last one?

Mathew: “New setlist, familiar faces and new people, new energy. The more hype we get the bigger we get and the gigs are changing. Now people feel real excitement being there rather than just checking something out.”

Issey: “We’re a tighter, better band than when we last toured. We’ve been consistently on the road in Spain and Italy and there was always excitement but now there’s more anticipation, more feeling, more passion.”

At your live shows you’ve been performing unreleased material from the album out January 30. Are there any tracks you’re especially excited to release?

Mathew: “Wasted On Youth is a fan favourite at gigs and Popstar always goes down well. But right now the singles are getting the most love.”

What draws you to the songs you choose to cover live?

Mathew: “Just what we’re into at the time. Sometimes we’ll cover something once and never do it again. If we think we can do a good version of it we’ll give it a go.”

The Molotovs are clearly music lovers first and foremost. Their influences sit at the intersection of Britpop, modern indie punk and mod, reviving the urgency of 80s British guitar music. While grounded in those influences they are unafraid to take unexpected songs and make them their own even reaching into what some would regard as radically different genres.

Despite being a relatively new band you’ve toured with and met music legends like the Sex Pistols and Blondie. What was that like?

Mathew: “They’re just normal people really. The gigs are incredible and you experience their musical genius but beyond that they’re just good people in great bands.”

Issey: “Debbie Harry had a real mythical aura to her. Others have presence too of course but most are just normal good people.”

Mathew: “I found Glenn Matlock very nonchalant. Which seems to be a big buzzword right now.”

That same nonchalant energy runs through Mathew himself reading less as detachment and more as an unforced rockstar presence. After Blondie gave The Molotovs a shoutout on stage and greeted them backstage I managed to accidentally refer to Debbie Harry as Debbie Ryan. Painful but true, and thankfully laughed off in good humour with Issey joking that she would love to meet Debbie Ryan one day.

How did you find your first headline tours?

Issey: “They were great. It’s amazing getting to explore the UK outside London. Aylesbury for example is a real cult music town with a strong live scene and I’m excited to go back there.”

Her focus however quickly shifts forward underscoring how much she genuinely enjoys what comes next rather than dwelling on what has already been achieved.

You’re playing Thekla in Bristol for the first time. What attracted you to the venue?

Issey:“I always walk past it. We’ve played Bristol twice already and it has such an aura especially being a former warship.”

The conversation briefly drifts into life outside music with Mathew mentioning a house party where Paris Hilton unexpectedly turned up. Ridiculous on paper, yet oddly plausible given the circles they are beginning to move in.

Rolling Stone has described your music as ageless. Does that resonate with you?

Mathew: “I’d probably say timeless rather than ageless. But everyone can enjoy it. It’s made by young people for young people.”

Issey: “We get a very multi-generational crowd. The music is reminiscent of the 70s and 90s Britpop era. We’re just bringing it youth again, letting people experience that feeling either for the first time or all over again.”

When I mentioned the resurgence of overlooked classics driven by TikTok, Issey and Mathew exchanged a glance. As recently noted on Channel 4 what separates them from much of Gen Z is their distance from doom-scrolling culture. Their rise has relied little on the digital-first machinery shaping today’s music industry.

You’ve already been covered by Rolling Stone and NME. What was it like receiving that level of recognition?

Issey: “Rolling Stone in the US was a big moment. We’d just played South by Southwest in Austin and our photo was the lead image. They clearly thought we were worth paying attention to.”

Mathew: “I didn’t really find it that mental.”

Issey: “And NME is iconic. Their old front pages have been a big stylistic inspiration for me so it’s special to be praised by them.”

The interview closes on a relaxed note. Rather than lingering on past recognition Issey looks ahead to the album release, the tour and what comes next. I suggest my hometown venue, the Holmfirth Picturedrome, and to my surprise she already knows it from researching UK music spaces. If they do make it there, it would undoubtedly be a sell-out. Now all that’s left is to experience it myself.