November 26, 2021
UD Music
Having graduated from music college ELAM in the summer of 2019, Essex based artist Molly Elizabeth began working with London producer and artist Lauren Faith, who nurtured Molly's talent until they found her sound, feeling instantly comfortable and like a big sister in the studio. The result of their close collaboration is Cruel Intentions, an ambitious five-track EP, with which Molly tracks the rise and fall of a relationship. "It's a coming-of-age thing, for sure," she says. "The story of finding someone that you really, really like. You've never felt this way before. And then they leave you." Across the EP, Lauren's history in jazz meets Molly's heartfelt vocal and appreciation for hooky lyrics, landing in the realm of soul-laden pop perfection. The EP's opening track, "Heart Eyes" captures the moment Cupid's arrow hits -- it's deliciously sassy and is guaranteed to get stuck in your head for days. Molly then falls fast and deep in love on "Reason In You", her romance set to intimate trip-hop production that feels like floating and gives off big Zero 7 energy. "I'm the type of person that, if I'm upset, I'll put on sad music to make me more sad," Molly says. The project's jazzy, sad-but-make-it-sexy title track, she suggests, is a good starting point for that. "It's about my personal experience of a horrible boy," she says. "I really wanted to make it so that girls can listen to "Cruel Intentions" and cry about their horrible ex. Then they can listen to "Please Just Wait" and have another cry." The latter is an addictive pop track about being messed around with, about "someone dropping in and out of my life all the time, whenever he picks and chooses". Atop a brooding bassline, Molly disguises the hurt with warm electric guitar, dancing melodies and harmonies galore. Last on Molly's list of recommended listening for a real emotional journey is "Sorry Not Sorry", a laidback and dubby documentation of getting over the boy that wronged her. It's about realising: "I literally don't care anymore. You think I still think about you, you think I still cry about you and talk about you all the time... I'm sorry, but I don't." And just like that, Cruel Intentions is every element of your first heartbreak distilled into a rollercoaster 17 minutes.