The following text field will produce suggestions that follow it as you type.

In the Fade
In the Fade

In the Fade in Bloomington, MN

Current price: $24.99
Loading Inventory...
Get it at Barnes and Noble

Size: OS

Get it at Barnes and Noble
Anyone following the career of
Tony Molina
since he began recording under his own name has no doubt been struck at some point by the duality of his approach to music. On the one hand, there are the blown-out, overdriven power pop nuggets that made
Dissed and Dismissed
an instant genre classic, on the other are the gentle acoustic fingerpicked guitar and
Beatles
que Baroque pop found on the equally impressive
Kill the Lights
. 2022's
In the Fade
is the first record made under his own name to house both fuzzy rockers and gentle ballads, screaming guitar solos and classically plucked acoustics, crunchy power chords and tinkling pianos. The "under his own name" distinction is important because when
Molina
was recording as
Ovens
, he did tend to blend the two styles together more; fittingly here, he went back into his archive of unused songs from that era and chose a few to finally finish up. He also wrote some new tunes, and with collaborator
Jasper Leach
in tow, headed to the studio during the uncertain times of the pandemic lockdowns to craft what might be his most fully realized album yet. It may lack the breathless rush of
Dismissed
or the pristine beauty of
Kill
, but the combination of the different styles gives the record a welcome diverse feel even as the songs fit together like puzzle pieces. His main goal in creating the record was to make sure that melodies ruled the day, and they certainly do -- whether they are loud and ripping (as on the grungy delight "The Last Time"), gentle and swaying (like "I Don't Like That He"), or impossibly fragile (on a song that should give
Elliott Smith
fans something to cheer, "Four Sided Cell"). No matter the volume level or instruments used, the driving force that ties the record together is
's clear-eyed, sad-hearted vocals. He can deliver a melancholy lyric (and they pretty much all are) with a graceful, non-pitiful style that's welcoming instead of cringy. Even when he gets a bit bitter as on "Fuck Off Now," there's still enough sugar in the hooks, both vocal and musical, to make the pain go down easy. It's been clear for a long time that
is a power pop whiz, a dab hand at Baroque pop, and a skilled classical guitarist; it's nice to have him wearing all those hats more or less at once here. ~ Tim Sendra
Powered by Adeptmind