Track Premiere: Molly Maguires “Better”

Photo: Rob Santos

Better‘ is a new song from New England-based Molly Maguires, and represents a transition in their sound.  Not just in the music itself but also in the way the band pull material together.  Founding member JJ Sorensen sees a new dynamic in the band, saying “‘The Mona Lisa Beverage EP’, which we released in February, was really just an addendum to our second record ‘That’s My Story’,” adding  “‘That’s My Story’ showed us settling in as a band; as a group of musicians making music together. Now we are really able to show who we are as artists. ‘Better’ is our way to begin this transition into the next phase.

Songwriter Meghan Earle told Americana UK that “‘Better’ is a song that came to me in the car, as many songs tend to, and then I had to sit with and figure out what to do with it.  I wrote it a long time ago, and I would play it for friends. I made a demo version a few years back, but I never did too much with it afterwards. It came back up with Molly Maguires after JJ gave me some good feedback on it. I’m excited to get it out!

Better‘ is a slow ballad that’s shot through weariness – weariness with endless lies and excuses and behaviours that never change.  And weariness with hearing the word ‘Love‘ when it doesn’t actually improve or fix anything.  Earle sings “stop spending money you don’t have on drugs” and later explains that the way to make things improve is that “you need to be better, that’s all.”  Home truths, in short, and it is like sitting in on the last argument a relationship will ever have.

Molly Maguires was officially formed in 2019 by founding members JJ Sorensen and Meghan Earle. Sorensen is a native of Westerly, RI who had previously served as a guitarist for pop/R&B artist Alaura Lovelight. Earle, a native of Assonet, MA, is a veteran of the Boston, MA music scene known for her immense voice and electric stage presence. Sorensen and Earle, who first met and began playing music together in 2010 while both were attending Framingham (MA) State University, are joined by guitarist Jesse Coppa, multi-instrumentalist Jason G. Taylor, bassist Nathan Johnson III, and drummer Sean Scro.

About Jonathan Aird 2695 Articles
Sure, I could climb high in a tree, or go to Skye on my holiday. I could be happy. All I really want is the excitement of first hearing The Byrds, the amazement of decades of Dylan's music, or the thrill of seeing a band like The Long Ryders live. That's not much to ask, is it?
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