Review | “On the Lips” by Molly Lewis
Hyper-stylized exotica as retroactive continuity
“On the Lips” marks the debut full-length LP by Molly Lewis, an Australian-born, LA-based self-described whistler. It further develops the seductive lounge/easy-listening/exotica hybrid sound she established in her previous two EPs: the majestic debut "The Forgotten Edge" and its equally ravishing follow-up, "Mirage."
All are produced by Grammy-nominated Thomas Brenneck, leader of the soul-fusion Menahan Street Band, also known for his collaborations with soul legend Charles Bradley and the legendary Amy Winehouse among many others.
Lewis's instrument is whistling, and her intimately personal technique produces avian, sometimes flute-like sounds that resemble otherworldly Theremin-like tones. These alluring, melismatic notes harmonize perfectly with the beautiful arrangements that underpin the entire mannerist performance.
Unfailingly pleasant to the ear, the music is not merely designed to be soothing and sensuous, but is also surprisingly playful, occasionally swerving towards some unexpected, yet never jarring, detours, like the softest of Yacht Rock touches, or even the slightest of Paco-de-Lucia-esque guitar flourishes.
Now and again, additional elements appear in ethereal vocalizations reminiscent of Edda del' Orso's stylings for Ennio Morricone, or gentle trip-hop rhythms, recalling Tipsy, the underrated mid-’90s project that similarly concocted a spiked cocktail of '50s and '60s easy-listening tropes.
In terms of archival affinities, the listener is also reminded of the more fantastical aspects of easy-listening music, succinctly captured in "Rhapsodesia", the sixth volume of the Ultra-Lounge compilation series, part of an anthology that still defines the last resurgence of widespread interest in lounge music during the end of the 20th century, thus acquainting a fresh cohort with the unique sounds of an often overlooked vintage aural aesthetics.
The blending of apparently unrelated yet consistently harmonious quotations persists throughout the record, always remaining faithful to the concept of impeccably curated nostalgia: sudden bursts of Calypso beats (a stunning rendition of Jeanette's Chilean '70s pop hit “Por Que Te Vas”), snippets of field recordings, the subtle crackle of aging vinyl, prominent mellotron accompaniment punctuating doo-wop style ballads, and jangly Americana softened by ethereal choirs evoking Lalo Schiffrin's haunting compositions.
Consciously, as evidenced by the failed seriousness of her sophisticatedly camp videos, the lush arrangements directly quote the languid atmospherics of lounge titans like Eden Ahbez, Les Baxter, Nelson Riddle, Martin Denny, and other such luminaries of what is nowadays a bygone and enticingly irrelevant mid-20th century school of easy-listening aural delights.
Creatively, Molly Lewis not only disregards pop music developments of the past six decades—a daring artistic choice that enhances the fictional aspect of her musical storyline—but also centers solely on an idyllic aesthetic that never truly existed, except as fragments of idealized fantasies, envisioned exclusively within the fabricated realms of cinematic dream sequences, aspirational commercials, and meticulously styled, hyper-idealized post-World War II, pre-Elvis atmospheres.
The result is far from revivalism or even revisionism, because the refined entirety surpasses its constituent elements, shaping a contemporary representation of its classic exotica heritage.
In other words, this isn't merely a generic reenactment of the 1950s or early 1960s; it evokes a very distinct sensibility, reminiscent of the exacting standards of Harper's Bazaar magazine in its heyday, as curated by Diana Vreeland, with Dovima gracing the cover, perhaps poised to embark on an exotic journey, captured for eternity by the poetic lens of Richard Avedon.
Exactly like the perfectionist, heady, hyper-stylized utopia visualized in these classic images, the sound of Molly Lewis is also bold and vehemently romantic, transcendental in its lack of accuracy even as it was once fashionable and thus temporary for eternity, ultimately remaining entirely atemporal because it represents a multitude of joyful connotations, and uchronic, immortalizing a sensibility without adhering to any specific period, particular era, historical fidelity nor precise memory.
It is a method of reshaping a fictional universe to better align with a convincing version of authenticity, an inspired exercise in retroactive continuity.
Embracing this imaginative, and retroactively optimistic approach, Molly Lewis invites us to explore a world where the boundaries of time and reality blur, hoping for a better past.
Text written by Panagiotis Chatzistefanou, Berlin, March 2024