It's amusing to hear a young man sing, "I am the most beautiful person who has ever lived." To follow it with "You wouldn't know beauty if it f--ked you tonight," well, that takes a special kind of bravery and creative arrogance, and
Lucas Fitzsimons, the leader of indie rock band
the Molochs, is someone who possesses those rare gifts.
Fitzsimons' level of snark doesn't often rise quite that high on
the Molochs' third album, 2018's
Flowers in the Spring, but his take on the male-female relation reveals more than a bit of cynicism over the course of this set of songs. "Shadow of a Girl" and "I Wanna Say to You" are rather severe kiss-offs to some former girlfriend, "Wade in the Water" finds him wallowing in some major post-breakup self-pity, and "Pages of Your Journal" finds him damning a significant other with faint praise as he engages in some pretty questionable boyfriend behavior. However, while
Fitzsimons might sound like a moody guy when you scan his lyrics, his music is a good bit more upbeat. The bluesy shadings of the first two
Molochs albums have faded a bit on
Flowers in the Spring, while this time the music is well-crafted indie pop whose ringing guitars, acoustic underpainting, and moody but easily hummable melodies suggest something like sunshine pop for an overcast day.
Fitzsimons and his creative partner
Ryan Foster reveal an estimable talent for creating a full and engaging sound with relatively few elements, and the production is clean and uncluttered, giving the performances a warm, confident tone that would seem radio-ready in a time when
R.E.M. and
the La's could get commercial airplay. You might not want to hang out with
Lucas Fitzsimons in the real world as he tells you how badly he was treated, but on
Flowers in the Spring, a tasty sugarcoating helps this bitter pill go down easily.