Everyone handles loss in different ways, but musicians get to thrash out their feelings in the form of kickass songs. On the heels of some major life changes, Molly Moore wrote Voice on the Internet, a solo album that took pain, anger and everything in between and turned it into a tracklist of nonstop bangers. With the pandemic continuing to keep the music industry in a holding pattern, Moore has taken the show online with livestreams and videos to stay connected to her fans before the album’s release on November 13. We spoke with Moore about channeling emotion into art, collaborating with other musicians and reaching new levels of confidence in 2020.
You’ve had a ton of new music coming out and you’ve got the album coming soon. When you’re making music now- especially with the world so different from what it was a few months ago- what have you been drawing your inspiration from for all these new tracks?
Honestly, a lot of this music was made before the pandemic and I finished it during quarantine. There were two songs that I wrote on FaceTime, during quarantine, that ended up on the album. But the album as a whole is about a really big life experience that I went through- going through a five year relationship and breakup and simultaneously grieving the loss of my dad and just trying to survive, basically. This album was literally just me trying to make sense of it all and survive and get through. It’s really raw- I think you can just really feel where I’m at when you listen to the songs. I really captured what I was going through in the moments and didn’t lie to myself about it. I hope that that translates and helps people that are also in that moment get through it and not do the stupid thing of texting your ex.
Obviously every song on this album is special, but is there one track in your mind that really stands out to you?
So “Voice on the Internet” was probably the most important out of all of them. It’s not even a single or a focus track or anything like that, but it’s the album title and it’s really the whole concept. As I was going through this, basically everyone would be like, ‘well why don’t you just block him?’ And I was like, from my brain? Do they have that? I realized that it’s not the internet, it’s you. You get addicted to people. “Voice on the Internet” was me just admitting that I basically just stalk them 24 hours a day instead of doing the opposite.
It was just really liberating to be that vulnerable and tell my truth when everybody wanted me to tell a lie or just block it out. I think that was what was so powerful about it for me. I was just like, ‘damn, I guess this is how people do breakups, but this isn’t how I can do a breakup. This isn’t gonna work for me, I’m denying my truth and it’s just extending this process longer.’ So that’s what that song was for me. I think that’s probably the essence of the whole album at its most unfiltered, vulnerable state. The other song I would say is “Get Out of My Head” which is the focus track when the album comes out, just because it’s the only time I’ve ever written an autobiography type song of my story in a chronological way. It just captures where I’m at now.
You’ve worked with a lot of amazing artists over the years. How would you describe that energy and those experiences compared to writing for your own project?
it’s so special. I’ve always loved working on music for other artists. The experience has changed tremendously since I moved to LA. When I came out here, I thought that process looked a lot different and I tried to just jump in. In taking just the time to develop my own voice and myself as a person, I’ve found that collaborating with other people is just such a cathartic experience, because I can really strongly connect to almost all the things people want to write about. [Even] If it’s not really their exact situation, I generally feel a connection to it.
It’s something else entirely when you can help somebody else express themselves to the fullest, but still feel like you’re really contributing to that in an authentic way. I’ve learned a lot about myself and about just working with people and different social situations, psychology, and it’s been awesome. I really, really love collaborating with other artists. It’s the most special thing for me to just be able to create with another person that thinks like me.
What would you say has been the biggest evolution of your music from when you started to where you are now?
I think that when I started releasing music, I felt really insecure about my voice and my place trying to be an independent artist. That came through a lot in my music, because that was what I felt and I wanted to write about that. I think over the years, there’s a confidence that I’ve grown in trusting my own voice and realizing that I do have something to say that’s unique and deserves to be heard and expressed. It’s a long process, I think, for some artists to get to that point where they can value themselves. It’s such a catch 22- your ego needing validation and all of these external factors you can’t control. I think confidence is really the thing. I’ve learned how to use my different voices to express multitudes of who I am within one song, which I feel a lot more satisfied with than just choosing one and just sticking to it. I get to be just more creative the more I let go of all the ideas of what music is supposed to be.
It’s just been really freeing. I’ve always loved making independent projects and releasing them. It’s been so exciting to see people connect, even on a small scale, to what I do throughout the years. That’s built a confidence in me to do more of what I actually have always wanted to do. I don’t feel boxed in anymore and that’s cool because I don’t think any artists really should.
Every artist has a different and very special relationship with music. How would you talk about your own relationship with it?
Music has saved me throughout my whole life. My dad was a musician and he really inspired me to love music and want to create my own music because he made his own music and was constantly playing every instrument and writing and recording. My mom also sings and my sister also makes music so it’s been around me my whole life. It’s been this comforting thing that I’ve been supported to do by my family. In a lot of ways, it just feels like home; like the only way I can breathe and process anything. Sometimes a song will just make me hysterically laugh and then hysterically cry within seconds and that’s crazy. There’s nothing else that can really do that to me. Not often do I have that kind of emotional reaction to entertainment or media in general. I just think music is such a delicate art form that really just is therapeutic for people.
Is there anything else that you want people to know about you or your music, or is there anything that you wish you got to talk about more that you might not get asked?
I made this album coming out of a place of deep suppression. In looking at myself and holding space for all the things that I found inside of me and not judging myself- hearing the judgmental thoughts and not believing all of them and letting them pass [has] been really profound for me. What I want people to take away from my music is just to feel free within themselves and not judgmental of the uglier parts that come up that might not appeal to everybody, but are real right now.
I think that’s really beautiful and special. I don’t think I said anything that eloquently [on the album]- that’s definitely something that I’ve come to in more recent months. I was really just pissed off. There’s a lot of cursing, a lot of me sounding like I’m more confident than I actually am. But the truth is, in those moments, that’s the only way that I could get through what I was going through and feel better about myself. So it’s weird looking back, because I judge myself a little bit when I listen to it. I think there’s going to be a couple people that will hear that and be able to embrace the state that they’re in more because of it. That’s at least what I hope. I hope that anyone listening to my music just feels a little bit freer within themselves.
Voice on the Internet is out November 13!
Story by Olivia Khiel
Photo courtesy of Molly Moore
