Molly Cottrell

Some jazz or R&B singers come across as trying too hard to be "real" by getting too raspy or loud. With the release of her self-titled EP, Molly Cottrell has harnessed her vocal talents and ear for writing to make it seem like an effortless effort to sound soulful.
"Run Me Down" introduces her sultry voice and brings a classic lament to lost love, as Cottrell puts her considerable talent on display. "Fellow Travelers" combines deft piano work and Cottrell's honey-tinged pipes into a song which seems to pay tribute to Tracy Chapman with a hint of Black Crowes bluesiness.
"Undecided Blue" doesn't bring sadness as the name implies, but rather an impetus to seize the reins of each moment, as well as an ability to get the body spontaneously moving to the beat.
A great song for slow-dancing or slipping the ex-boyfriend a Mickey, "What You Came For" finishes the set with a melody fit for motion, as her soaring vocals during the chorus strike this listener as a tad like the old Sly And The Family Stone classic "Everyday People."
Cottrell and her backing sound finish what they started, which is a great freshman effort from a singer with impressive potential. The lyrics don't necessarily bring the listener into new territory, but Cottrell definitely has vocal talent. Throw in the fact she wrote the music and sang background on the record makes it an even more impressive debut. It's not going to make me trade in my Diana Krall anytime soon, but there is always room for more talent and emotion in jazz. - UCD Advocate

Her music is rhythmic and addictive, her lyrics are wise and insightful, and her singing voice? It could lure the surliest sea captain toe-tapping to shipwreck. You may have seen Molly Cottrell’s name posted in venues around Denver such as Moe’s Original Barbecue and Bowling and The Hi-Dive. Despite her siren-like talent, she has, in the true soul style, enchanted mainly audiences in small bars. But that’s about to change. For the interview, I met Molly at her home in the DU area.

Bryndon Tarafa: Molly, it’s a pleasure to meet you finally. How are you?

Molly Cottrell: I’m well. My voice is a little bit shot because I’ve had a cold and had to sing last night. But well still.

BT: You’re not a native to the Denver area. Tell me about your hometown, Ellensburg, Washington?

Molly Cottrell: It’s small. Central Washington University is in Ellensburg and that’s where my dad teaches. I don’t feel attached to it like a hometown. But it’s only a hundred miles from Seattle. I LOVE that city. I loved being so near to the coast. A city like Seattle has so much character.

BT: Did the Seattle music scene influence you at all?

Molly Cottrell: I think that if I had lived in Seattle it would have, but Ellensburg, not at all. I just don’t fit in there. I mean it’s a lot of Country music and just not who I am, but I feel like I wasn’t influenced by that because I lived in so many different places. But my parents definitely had an influence, they have a huge CD collection and they would be playing Al Green and Simon and Garfunkel.

BT: Tell me more about your family.

Molly Cottrell: We’re an adventurous family. My dad’s a professor, and for his work, my dad used to take students abroad. And when he went abroad my whole family went. We lived in Africa, China, Scandinavia. It showed me and my brother the bigger picture. In the US, we lived in small towns, but I always felt like I was part of a bigger place because we traveled so much… No one in my family does music though.

BT: So, how did you get into music?

Molly Cottrell: I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a singer. I remember my mom used

to ask my brother and I once a year what we wanted to be when we grew up. She used to give us a pen and a piece of paper and tell us to write down what we wanted to be. She said, “you can be anything you want. Anything in the world.” And I said, “Anything?..well, okay…an elephant.” And she said, “no, you can’t be an elephant.” (laughs) So, other than that, it was pretty much a singer.

BT: What is your first memory of music or singing?

Molly Cottrell: Well, I remember in third grade, when I was eight or nine, I asked my mom if I could take voice lessons. She said it might be a good thing for you and sent me into my very first voice lessons in elementary school and I remember my voice teacher put books on my stomach to teach me to breathe correctly. But I remember being younger than that and singing ABC’s around the house. Oh yeah! And at recess in third grade, five of my friends and I would go to the playground to make up dances. It was right when the Spice Girls came out. We were each one of the Spice Girls and every recess we would get into our little line and dance. I was the ring leader of that. I was a Spice Girls Nazi. I was like, “this is what we do!” It was fun.

BT: The real learning happens at recess. I mean, who knows, maybe you wouldn’t have become a singer if it wasn’t for the stuff you did at recess.

Molly Cottrell: (Laughs) Yeah, when you find someone at that age who is willing to do that with you, you realize how much you love it.

BT: Besides the Spice Girls, who are your current musical influences?

Molly Cottrell: My favorite vocalist of all time is Otis Redding. I love Ray Charles and Sam Cooke. And for more modern artists, Joss Stone and Adele. Amy Winehouse is fantastic. But really what gets me is soul music and Motown. Funk and black music from the 60’s just melts me.

BT: What is different between you and your influences? How do you add to the neo-soul equation?

Molly Cottrell: I think because of the time I live in, I have a modern take on soul music. A lot of my music has gospel influenced background music and backup vocals, which adds to the retro feel of the song. But I think my lyrics stand out a lot in my music. They’re very personal. I feel very vulnerable performing them. It’s like, “hey, you can read my diary. Here it is.” I’m very honest in my lyrics. A lot of artists see lyrics as a side note or a complement to their music. But, for me, it’s the whole point. Also, because I feel it’s important to be honest and sincere. That matches exactly with the whole premise of soul. Because soul is real and raw. It is what it is. It’s simple, but full of emotion and humanity.

BT: How do you feel about your first album?

Molly Cottrell: I’m very happy with it. I didn’t settle at all. The musicians were very talented and they listened to what I wanted. I didn’t know a lot of the industry lingo to convey what I wanted, but that’s why I had an excellent producer helping me out. He knew the lingo and when I didn’t know the word for something he explained it in laymen’s terms.

BT: I like that your lyrics seem to gather around a theme or idea. They’re not just pretty words in rhythm with the music.

Molly Cottrell: Yeah, what I get out of music is putting myself into it. I love playing music that’s fun to dance to, but I don’t get nearly as much out of it as when I’m honest and truly making a statement.

BT: For example, in your single “Not What I Need” the line is, “but I didn’t know you well.” Where does that come from?

Molly Cottrell: When you meet someone, it’s hard not to project your expectations onto them. It’s very easy to get twisted and then later you realize, “oh, I thought you were like this, but that’s because I expected you to be like that, and you’re really not like that.” Like you’ve seen something of someone and you think that’s who they are. That’s not them, that’s who I thought they would be. It’s the confusion of really knowing somebody or thinking that you know somebody.

BT: Are we getting more of your insightful lyrics in rest of the album?

Molly Cottrell: I believe so, yes. A lot of songs on this album deal with personal relationships but others are more reflective like, for example, “Undecided Blue”. I started reading Great Expectations and there was a beautiful line that said, “he had eyes of such a very undecided blue that they seemed to have somehow got mixed with their own whites.” That phrase grabbed me. I wrote a song around it, based on the contradictions that everybody has of themselves; how you can feel strongly one way, but at the exact same time feel the other way about it. You can love something, but at the same time feel like it’s holding you back.

BT: Where does that come from in your life?

Molly Cottrell: I have no question in my mind that music is my passion. But at the same time, there’s part of me that’s like…you question the most sincere things in your life and you don’t know why you question it. If I had talent in any other area, I would still want to do music, but then I ask myself, why? Why are you doing this to yourself ? It’s so hard. Or, you can be in a relationship with someone and love them, but at the same time not want to be around them as much as…

BT: As much as with music?

Molly Cottrell: Music—I could never not do it.

BT: But you could not be with another person?

Molly Cottrell: Yeah, it’s like—human relationships with people—they’re not. Even though I care about a certain person, they’re not as ingrained in me as my passion.

BT: Let’s say you couldn’t study music. What else would you study?

Molly Cottrell: I’ve asked myself that many times. I would be the most unproductive member of society or the most useless one. I would probably do…what the hell would I do? My parents used to tell me that I should be a lawyer because I argue every point they make. It’s very annoying about me, actually. Even if someone makes a point I agree with, I find myself pointing out the other side. And I tell myself ‘Stop, ‘stop.’ But I can’t. Everyone hates lawyers, but, oh well, everyone hates musicians too.

BT: Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Molly Cottrell: Ten years? Uh, I’ll definitely have a Grammy. (laughs) Well, if nobody dreams it no one can do it! You can find Molly’s music at http://mollycottrell.bandcamp.com/ or at her website http://mollycottrell.webstarts.com



Photos by Shannon Piserchio Photography

Makeup: Dina Bree

Stylist: Emily Marchalonis

Lighting: Dominique Frederico

Wardrobe: Kismet

Hair: Ashe Bowen - Develo Magazine

Molly Cottrell's self-titled EP starts with her singing "Run Me Down" with just a piano — which, as it turns out, is an ideal way to open a tune, since you're automatically drawn in by her marvelous vocals before the band gradually comes in. A few minutes later, Cottrell tosses a few Adele-isms into the mix as she digs into some serious '60s-inspired soul with a full horn section. On "Trying to Get Out" and "Undecided Blue," the University of Denver voice major shows she's just as comfortable in a modern R&B setting as she is belting out soul and gospel-infused soul on songs like "Fellow Travelers." While there are only five cuts here, that's more than enough to demonstrate that Cottrell has a fine set of pipes and knows a thing or two about crafting songs that fully showcase them. - Denver Westword