[NewCD] New CD from THE MOLLYS

[d sorenson]

	The Mollys - an accordion-driven Tucson-based quintet with four-part
vocals - have released their fourth studio CD, "ONLY A STORY,"  on their
APOLKALIPS NOW!(APN0001)label. 
	The songs, written by group founder Nancy McCallion (except for one
traditional, "Youngest Daughter"), range from Celtic-rooted folk ballads
and waltzes, conjunto-style border polkas to bluegrass tinged rave ups and
country - and much more. The purpose of the wide range of musical styles in
not eclecticism for the sake of eclecticism, but to best serve McCallion's
compelling lyrics. In pursuit, the band employs accordions (button and
piano), acoustic guitars, mandolin, tin whistle, banjo, harmonica and
backed by electric fretless bass and drums.
	The band, formed in Tucson in 1990, has moved away from its primary Celtic
influences as McCallion's songwriting evolved to include Mexican, Tex-Mex,
Cajun, Eastern European and country incluences.
Her story telling songs - often sharp but never preachy - have earned
uniformly rave reviews. 
	The 13-track CD (CD-only), available immediately from the band's mail
order service or web page <http://www.mollys.com> will be released March 10
and be available from Border's, many Tower and Virigin stores as well as
hudnreds of independent shops and several on-line music and mail order
dealers. It can also be ordered directly from THE MOLLYS by sending a check
or money order for $17 (includes shipping) to THE MOLLYS, PO Box 40940,
Tucson, AZ 85717-0940 (please include return address).	
	THE MOLLYS tour relentlessly, logging an average of 65,000 miles a year
for the last five years, visiting top venues and festivals in the US,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
	To learn more about the band, please visit THE MOLLYS website
<http://www.mollys.com>

"Five (Arizonans) wielding mandolins and pennywhistles and accordions and
bouzokis and a quivery lead Chicana voice alongside the usual No
Depression/jam band implements, the Mollys rank in rhythm-and-lyric
aptitude with any neo-roots crew mining the microbrew circuit: eerie,
tough, no prissy irony to speak of Celtic jigs, Appalachian reels,
norteños, polkas - and don't miss their big swirler about the coal mines
shutting down until Lang Town brings back whiskey." - From Chuck Eddy's
12/99 Village Voice preview of the band's appearance at the Rodeo Bar in NYC.

Washington Post music critic Geoffrey Himes says: The Tucson's quintet has
made some of the most underrated music of the '90s, thanks to Nancy
McCallion's Lucinda Williams-like songwriting, Catherine Zavala's gutsy
vocals and Kevin Schramm's accordion, which ties the Celtic, Tejano and
rock strains in the music together. This new album emphasizes the band's
Mexican-American flavors more than ever before, and McCallion has written
some terrific songs about characters disoriented by the border's
cross-cultural collisions."

The previous two CDs, "Moon Over the Interstate" and "Hat Trick," are still
getting some good press here and
abroad. The Mollys were featured prominently in two issues of Buscadero -
"The Rolling Stone of Italy," we're told. One issue included a major band
profile with front cover mention.

Watsonville Register - Daniel Yaryan What if Bob Dylan hooked up with Jimi
Hendrix, Los Lobos, Winona Judd, and The Pogues and they all jammed together? 

The Edmonton Journal - Roger Levesque ...one of the most unusual and
refereshing combos to come across my desk in the last year had to be a
Tucson, Arizona group called The Mollys. The band’s latest album Moon Over
the Interstate is another slice of sophisticated songwriting and fine
storytelling alternating between uptempo danceable numbers and impressive,
moving balladry.

The Boston Herald
"Speaking of unlikely yet organic folk fusions, The Mollys, who play Club
Passim tomorrow, combine Celtic with Tex-Mex, sometimes in the same song.
It's a natural mix. Together (Nancy McCallion and Catherine Zavala) lead a
quintet that dives headlong from Celtic to Mexican, from rhythmic ferocity
to balladic sorrow. One of the most exciting live groups in folk, the
Mollys has a fine recent CD, "Hat Trick."...

"Beedle Um Bum Larry" of KPFA
"This Tucson AZ band plays music that has been described as "celtic
Tex-Mex," but in fact it's a wonderfully
integrated new sound drawn from many traditions. It's lively and powerful
yet definitely in the acoustic folk tradition. Lead singer/songwriter Nancy
McCallion is wonderful, and Kevin Schramm's accordion powers most of the
arrangements. The more I listen to this album, the more I want to hear it -
there's no greater praise than that."

Jeremy Butler, Host "All Things Acoustic" WUAL/WQPR/WAPR
"Hat Trick" is a snappy blend of musical traditions: part Celtic, part
Tex-Mex, maybe even part Cajun, and all zesty." 

Bill Nevins in an Scáthán "The Mollys are in the same league as the Pogues,
Black 47, Los Lobos - a great and
successful cross-culture mix...The world's most unique and exciting
Celtic-Tex-Mex band. McCallion's sharp lyrical wit, tin whistle and
third-generation Irish-Scottish-Southwest American-redneck sensibility
blends with Zavala's Mexican bandida soul shouting and hilarious on-stage
mugging to fire the band's ironic assualt on the sacred cows of traditional
music."

Rosemary Pratka, The Morning Call, Allentown, PA
"While Tex-Mex/Irish music might seem to be an unusual combination, The
Mollys played so exuberantly, moving from waltz to jig to polka to reel,
the melding of styles turned out to be a natural combination. The
enthusiasm of both the band and patrons let to several standing ovations
and some cramped attempts at dancing."

Patrick O'Donnell, The Express-Times
"Hat Trick" is an album with an attitude...This is music about drinking,
loving, sex and life. Despite the potential for it, the Mollys are no
gimmick group. The music is honest, and the elements are combined so
flawlessly that it's like a shot of 80-proof Bushmills: smooth and full of
character, but with each element retaining its distinctive flavor." 

Dan Buckley, The Tucson Citizen
"In a world of imitators, The Mollys has forged something original from the
melting pot of Southwest immigrant influences and the timeless, common
bonds of the human experience..."Hat Trick" is a killer release."

Peter Hunter - Verde Valley Independent
Everyone, it seems, is willing to take a shot at pigeon-holing the Mollys.
>From Arizona to Ireland, thesaurus-wielding music journalists have tried to
pin down the feverish musical persona that is this band. The Mollys have
been dubbed a Latin band. A salsa-flavored Celtic band. An Irish Tex-Mex
band. A norteno polka band. A "drunken fantasy cooked up by Sergio Leone
and Shane MacGowan." Critics have picked up on Appalachian, Eastern
European and Cajun strains in the music. They’ve been called Tucson’s
answer to The Pogues, Black 47 and Los Lobos. Well, you can throw your
thesaurus out the window, because The Mollys are seven years old now, and
they’re mature enough to have their own personality. Sure, all that’s been
written is true, but your chances of labeling the band in a couple of words
are about as good as finding a tamale in Dublin. What isn’t tough about The
Mollys is how easy it is to get into them. From the rough little club band
that spawned a bastard offspring of traditional Celtic and Latin, soaking
up the Guinness and cerveza with a grimy storytelling mop, The Mollys have
kneaded other world influences into the mix and released their fourth, and
undoubtedly best, album, "Hat Trick." ...The future for The Mollys may just
be in Hat Trick."

Noah Schaffer saw The Mollys at Club Passim in Cambridge, MA and had this
to say:
"Rating: 10. The Mollys have a totally unique sound that begins with Celtic
rock but throws in a hearty dash of Tex-Mex. I'm fairly jaded from seeing
too many concerts but came away from their show in total awe at their
songwriting, voices, musicianship and especially their energy. I especially
recommend seeing the whole 5-piece band (rather than the acoustic
duo/trio). If you like your acoustic music with a helluva lot of pep, or
your rock real tasteful, check out the Mollys."

Geoffrey Himes of The Washington Post 
"The Mollys put such an interesting spin on Irish folk-rock that they can
stand any comparisons to stand out as an important band in their own right."

Dirty Linen "As unlikely a mix as Tex-Mex Celtic sounds, this album proves
the combination can work to great effect. ...the primary focus of The
Mollys is rockin', stomping, pass me a pint of stout (wrapped in a
tortilla, please) tunes. If you like Tempest or Wolfstone, the high-octane
energy of The Mollys should be just the thing to rouse you out of bed."

Ireland’s Hot Press
"What they play is Irish Tex-Mex and I promise you you’ve never heard the
like"

The Boston Globe
"High hopping, delightfully spicy Celtic-Tex-Mex fusion"

Sing Out!
"If Shane MacGowan had been born female, lived in the Southwest and could
sing to charm a rattler, the Pogues
would be The Mollys. Singer and guitarist Nancy McCallion is a brilliant
songwriter. Her lyrics have a direct
immediacy set with a true traditional flair. They are world-weary, bitter,
stark, drunken and funny."

Music Alive! on the World Wide Web
"This is the only group that can really make me enjoy Celtic music!"

Metro - Santa Cruz, CA
"Imagine some hot tamales washed back with a pint of warm Guinness, and
you’ve got the Mollys"
dan sorenson - bass & web guy for The Mollys
dan@mollys.com
http://www.mollys.com
2421 E. Eighth St.
Tucson, AZ 85719-5624
520.881.7195
520.326.9578 fax