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Molly Payton

London's Molly Payton shares new track 'How To Have Fun' from forthcoming EP 'Porcupine'.

Emerging London-based artist Molly Payton releases new track and video ‘How To Have Fun,’ the latest cut from her forthcoming EP Porcupine, out wednesday, October 21 via TMWRK Records. With production from Oli Barton-Wood (Nilüfer Yanya, Porridge Radio, Sorry), Matt Allchin (Florence and The Machine) and Josh Crocker (Kali Uchis, Celeste), Porcupine emerges as a bold statement of the 19-year-old’s artistic intent. 


How To Have Fun’ is Molly’s wry and clever take on the fallacy of “cool,” as she explains;

“How to have fun is really just a criticism of ‘cool’. I wrote it in the moment I realised I’d been wasting my time trying to impress people I didn’t actually like that much in an effort to be in-the-gang.

I was only 16 when I moved to London so it took me a long time to figure that all out, but

I’m SO happy I did."


Across five tracks, Porcupine draws from the scope of Molly’s sonic influences - combining soaring vocals reminiscent of indie darlings like Big Thief or Julia Jacklin with the energetic guitar-driven sonics and witty lyricism of contemporaries such as Snail Mail and Beabadoobee. Molly’s sound emerges unique to her, embracing the roots and influences of her New Zealand upbringing, yet grounding itself in the youthfulness and enthusiasm of navigating young adulthood in her new London setting. 


Molly’s first offering came in the form of her debut EP Mess, which was co-produced with Dirty Hit signee Oscar Lang. The two met shortly after Molly began at her new UK school, and struck up a friendship after bonding over Beabadoobee’s early releases (which Oscar produced). She credits Oscar with instilling her with enough confidence to share her first track on Soundcloud. Whilst Mess cast a reflective gaze to her teenage years, mining swooping, vulnerable melancholy,

Porcupine emerges as bigger, fuller and louder, a reflection of Molly’s contemporary experiences and changing tastes as she works with and meets new people.

“I’ve definitely gravitated towards a heavier, very ‘90s [sound],”

she notes.

“I love slacker bands like Happyness and big, noisy bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pavement

and Nirvana.”


While she will always want meaning in her songs, she also wants to “make music that people can jump around to”. Recorded in a heatwave, and written to the backdrop of Molly’s first summer post high school, the EP also draws thematically from this time. Molly and her friends found themselves bound by the collective experience of both freedom and uncertainty, and were subsequently given license to make mistakes, or in her words “be young, stupid and happy.” 


With her evocative lyricism, ever-expanding sound, and wry humour as a fixture -  Porcupine is both a snapshot and introduction to the world of Molly Payton, a bold new talent and most welcome arrival to the UK scene.

She’s eschewing lofty dreams of stardom, however, for something much more humble.

“All I want is to be able to stay in London and keep doing this,”

she says.

“I just want it to be my only job.” 

Molly Payton - How to Have Fun (single)

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