Tony Molina has garnered a great deal of acclaim over the last couple of years as some of the recordings that he made under his own name began to find their way into the hands of a larger circle of ears, leading eventually to some kind of recording agreement with none other than MATADOR RECORDS. I first heard his solo stuff somewhere along that timeline leading to MATADOR, and a ways back Maxwell Parrot wrote about his DISSED AND DISMISSED record. He was also in the band VIOLENT CHANGE that we’ve written about here as well, (though he’s not anymore it would appear). I am into the straight TONY MOLINA brand of pop-meets-various-punks-and-indie-rocks, and if you too are (or even if you are not), you probably should check out THE OVENS.
Tony Molina’s pre-solo band is what the record label (MELTERS) is saying about the band in reference to the 7″ they just put out by them, spurred on no doubt by Molina’s recent success. The 7″ is only called 7″, and the reason that more thought wasn’t put into the name probably stems from the fact that the tracks were recorded back in 2005 by the band, but are only seeing the light of day for the first time right now with this MELTERS release. 7″ amounts to the 4th release by THE OVENS, a now defunct part of Tony Molina’s history, but nevertheless an amazing band for the right kind of listener. I really love this band and their music. I mean, I also love the first two WEEZER records. And I also have a great story that makes the band special to me too. Wanna hear it? I thought you did.
The only time I’ve gone to SXSW was a bunch of years ago with my band NEEDY VISIONS. My friends in the band WILDLIFE/ WILDILDLIFE were also up in Austin’s butt for the thing. They were awesomely asked to play AQUARIUS RECORDS/ WFMU’s showcase at some bar. There to see them, I was also interested in other bands playing this particular showcase, naturally. THE OVENS were playing, but I had no idea who they were at the time. Thankfully I had a friend in Andy Crane from WILDLIFE/ WILDILDLIFE, who literally forced me in front of THE OVENS, demanding I pay attention (not that I was fighting too hard). And I was blown the fuck away. Thanks Andy. If you listen to their recordings and you have room in your heart for WEEZER, and other metal loving power pop groups, then you’ll understand my commitment to THE OVENS. I saw this same commitment to the band in Andy’s eyes. Perhaps it now gets passed to you? Not new tracks, but FRESH, never before released. Only 4 songs, but if you hear what I’m saying, then you’ll love the shit out of every single one. And if not, then maybe you were born at the wrong time or some other bullshit. Long live Tony Molina, but never forget THE OVENS.
