Spotlight: Molly Burch "Emotion" + Interview
☆ By MODESTY SANCHEZ ☆
WHEN MOLLY BURCH PICKS UP THE PHONE, THE DELICACY AND LIGHTNESS OF HER VOICE IS STARTLING. If you've ever heard one of Burch's songs, then you know how ferocious and mesmerizing her jazz-influenced vocals are, especially when they're used to sing about heartache and desperation. Her voice is almost always strong and heady, and able to hit high and low notes with ease while soft, profound instrumentals complement it.
It's her unique vocals and clear talent that have made Burch a respected musician since the release of her debut album, Please Be Mine, in 2017. An album that takes on the daunting task of trying to recover from a heartwrenching break-up, her debut expressed skillful songwriting that automatically transported the listener to a world of romantic melancholy. A year later, she followed it up with her sophomore album, First Flower, where she played with more diverse sounds and tackled different topics such as creative anxiety ("Candy") or trying to overcome one's own timidity ("Wild"). There's even a song, "To The Boys," that acknowledges her softspoken voice in the first line where she sings, "I'm not a quiet singer, but I'm a quiet talker…"
The evolution of her creative process was a key theme of our conversation, but we also dove into some other topics such as how she was holding up in quarantine, whether she was potentially releasing any new music, and a few people, including our mutual favorite Bernie Sanders.
"I guess my first question is the obligatory quarantine question: How have you been doing in such an isolated space?" I asked her.
"I feel okay," she responded, "I think the beginning of the pandemic was really scary for everyone. And we were in the middle of a tour. Luckily, we were home on a break before we were about to go out. It was really scary to have live music taken away, it's such a big part of my life."
Photo by Jackie Lee Young
She was, of course, referencing the tour she had been on with the band, Tennis, who had just released a new album. Burch was (and still is, so long as their newly announced 2021 tour doesn't succumb to coronavirus as well) their opening act; while both artists have vintage sounds, Tennis has pop synths reminiscent of the Beach Boys and even Fleetwood Mac, while Burch's sultry vocals and jazz instrumentals transport listeners to a dive bar in post-war America. These differing styles promised a memorable show, and potential attendees were more than disappointed when the 2020 tour was put on hold for safety reasons––but the expectant audience clearly wasn't more upset than Burch was at this unexpected halt.
Having live music suddenly and indeterminably taken away, and because of an even more unexpected and unknown global pandemic, understandably demands a time of respite and processing, which is why Burch goes on to say she's been using her quarantine to recoup.
When asked how she'd been staying creative during quarantine, and whether she's working on some new stuff (as a tweet of hers hinted at), she responded: "It's definitely been hard to be creative during this time. I don't really feel that's where my mind is at, but I had already been working on new music before this happened, so I've been able to focus on recording. I am staying creative, but I'm not exactly writing."
Singing has always been her primary mode of creative expression anyway, having been vocally trained in the jazz tradition ever since she was growing up in Los Angeles. Burch herself has admitted, "I think songwriting is really hard. That doesn't come super naturally to me, because I always was first and foremost a singer and I began songwriting in my mid-20's, basically or early 20's." When she has to expend creative energy singing, she'll release a cover or two, as she did for her The Molly Burch Christmas Album, which was released last December.
She might also release a cover of a pop artist, like she did when she recorded her own version of "needy" by Ariana Grande, who Burch is a big fan of. When Burch was on tour for her sophomore album in 2018, I went to see her in Cambridge. That night had been hectic–– a sexual harassment scandal at the original venue forced her to relocate to a small, crowded cafe in the middle of a snowstorm–– but I, along with the rest of the audience, had braved it in order to see her perform. She hadn't seem fazed at all by how cramped the venue was, or by the diminutive size of her stage. She was just there for the music, and her fiercesome vocals encompassed the room. The audience became increasingly captivated, hanging onto her every word–– including when she randomly expressed concern for Grande, who had recently undergone an intense breakup with Pete Davidson.
Photo by Kelly Giarrocco
Upon relaying this memory to Burch, she laughs self-effacingly, admitting to being an 'Arianator.' However, her celebrity priorities are suddenly thrown into question when I ask her which of her pop faves–– Frank Ocean or Ariana Grande–– she'd rather sing a song with. "Well, I love his [Frank Ocean's] voice. I have always wanted to be produced by someone extremely pop and have my voice on a really pop-produced song. To me, that's like Frank Ocean and I just love his album. But I guess I would sing 'Needy' with Ariana Grande because I covered it, but some of her songs are a bit out of my range."
Burch's desire to have a pop-produced song and her obsession with pop icons is nothing new. Though music publications like Rolling Stone seem incapable of writing a review of her music without including the words "vintage" or "retro," a trend Burch attributes to her voice, she says that "my earliest inspirations were jazz music, and that's what I did in college. But I was also around when Britney Spears and Christina Aguilara were at their prime… and I was so drawn to those vocalists as well." According to her, her voice is like "melted jazz," meaning she's always considered herself to be a much more eclectic artist than her critics have given her credit for. But now with the release of pop covers and hints at new music, it's becoming increasingly obvious Burch will break out of the limits placed on her by music critics.
"I think that's [her voice] influenced my songwriting and my songs," she continued, "because I've always just written for my voice. I feel like my new songs will be a different sound. Hopefully people will like that. I always get excited when artists change their sound."
We were in complete agreement on that––nobody likes a stagnant musician, and it's always refreshing to hear that an artist isn't afraid to experiment and evolve. Another thing we had in common is our mutual love for Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Senator who came close to clinching the 2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination. As it turned out, Burch performed at his rally when he came to Austin, Texas, where she lives.
"We didn't get to meet him. I was so sad, but it was because it was right before Super Tuesday and he was flying. And it was super quick, like he was in Dallas and then Austin and, I don't know, something insane and we didn't get to meet him. But it was really amazing getting to play before him. It was a really exciting time."
Our conversation ended soon after, but it was clear from her genuine desire to continue to refine her talents and evolve her sound that she would have plenty more exciting times to come. Burch isn't afraid to transcend the limitations placed on her by publications saying she should be singing in a jazz club from the 50s. Who can only say she's vintage or referential or retro. She loves jazz, but she also loves Ariana Grande and Frank Ocean and Brittany Spears and Christina Aguilera. She's inspired by the past but is always looking toward the future. Molly Burch is timeless, and is always excited to push the envelope. I don't know what her new music will sound like, but I do know it'll be worth a listen. Check our her latest track “Emotion” featuring Wild Nothing and dive into Molly Burch’s world!
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