The Molotovs at Kentish Town Forum
The Molotovs at The Forum, Kentish Town, London – Friday 25th September 2026
I first bumped into the Molotovs when driving down Old Street near Shoreditch. They caught my eye, busking as a full band, with Union Jack themed clothing and a brash energetic sound. Only trouble was I didn’t know the name of the band and a bit of googling at the time returned no answers.
Fast forward another year and the penny dropped as I watched the support for The Professionals at the 229 Club. Still very young, The Molotovs delivered a commanding set of covers interspersed with a few originals. it was obvious there was a bit of ingredient X about them. Sure, there was a Weller-esque swagger to singer guitarist Matt’s stage presence, but his confidence and Issey’s Riskenbacker driven bass sound and moves offered something more than cheap comparisons.
All of which leads us on to tonight’s gig at the Forum. The 2300 capacity venue is sold out. Which is a testament to their relentless gigging and hardworking, from busking beginnings to a raft of support slots for everyone from the Sex Pistols to Yungblud. But wait, it’s even more impressive than that with a second night added and also sold out – and all this at the end of a UK tour. Amazing how far a band can travel in a few packed years.
The band rely on visceral energy combined with a thunderous bass sound, rock solid drums and clear, incisive lyrics. They are clearly influenced by 70’s and 80’s rock bands, but now the covers have largely gone. We only get Bowie’s ‘Suffragette City’ tonight while their own compositions like early recording ‘Newflash’ provide memorable riffs and choruses that had the crowd singing along in unison.
It’s only at the encore the pace lets up, giving way for Matt to deliver acoustic songs ‘The Man Who Could Never Be’. and ‘Nothing Keeps Her Away’ before amping up the tempo with a rousing set closer of ‘Come On Now’. It’s taken them a lot of hard graft to reach this summit, but it feels like that no sooner that they are there they are already for the next one. Buckle up, it’s going to be quite the ride seeing where the release of next year’s album ‘Welcome to Urbia’ takes them.