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Texas Tales: Molly Burch brings a new vision of western folk and retro pop to Allston

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Studio 52 is a community artist space located in the heart of Allston, and is proud to support the Boston music scene and local artist community.


Molly Burch’s music presents the sonic encapsulation of the Western American experience. Raised in Los Angeles by two parents involved in Hollywood and learned in the tumbleweed-dry blues of western folk, her debut album, last month’s Please Be Mine (Captured Tracks), is the essential hybrid of the lifestyles in California and Texas. Just as the spring thaw continues to melt Massachusetts, Burch brings the prairie dust of the west to Allston’s Great Scott this Monday (March 6), sharing a bill with Tim Darcy of Ought.

“I feel I found my voice as a songwriter in Texas. I moved here by myself in the summer of 2013 and it was a very lonely time,” Burch says. “I turned to songwriting to help make myself feel productive in some way and it definitely was a therapeutic outlet. Being out in Dripping Springs, Texas, is really calming for me and we all felt very at peace.” 

On “Downhearted (Album Version)”, the first track of Please Be Mine, the tenor in her deep voice unfurls with the weight of heartbreak on it. In the background, guitar echoes with the twang of Texas, where she recorded the 10-track folk opus. “I know there is much more to me than thinking about you,” she laments on “Downhearted,” perhaps the best word to capture the overall atmosphere of her resounding debut. While the album was put together in a mere two days, her songs revel in the languid cadence of loneliness and contemplation.

“I was motivated by the fact that I didn’t have that much money to spend on making the album so I knew I wanted to act fast!” she notes. “However we didn’t feel rushed. It felt more of like an exciting challenge. A lot of people told my band and I we wouldn’t be able to do it.”

While Burch said at one point she wasn’t confident enough to write her own music, she also said that both of her parents’ work in filmmaking helped to realize the value of pursuing an artistic career.

“I think having two role models like that really shaped my world,” Burch says. “They both are in the movie business and are both extremely brilliant and creative. They showed me that you could follow your passion and make a life out of it.”

Considering the insightful depth of Please Be Mine, Burch has since gotten her moody songwriting prowess on lock. Preview the LP below, as well as recent single “Try.”