The Molotovs - Live at Thekla, 9th January 2026

So hot they’re steaming, Southend duo The Molotovs had a remarkable 2025 – recording their debut album, supporting the likes of Blondie and The Damned – and look set to continue their hot streak well into 2026, straight out of the traps with an early-year tour.

The graft started early for the pair, and the effort is impossible to deny: siblings Matt and Issey Cartlidge were apparently immersed in music from their early teens, raised on their parents’ record collection of quintessentially British acts such as the Buzzcocks, The Undertones, The Jam, The Specials, Madness, etc.

By 2020 they were performing live, but when lockdown closed venues they busked wherever they could. A backstory rooted in persistence rather than privilege, it shows in how comfortable they are onstage.

That said, their youth (Matt is 17, Issey 19) doesn’t quite align with the mythology already surrounding them.

The Molotovs are regularly framed as prodigious outsiders, but they are also a band that has benefited from rapid exposure.

https://www.live4ever.uk.com/the-molotovs-bristol-thekla-review/