An invigorating rock sound shines throughout Mid Welsh, Pt. 1, the new EP from MOLETRAP. Across five tracks, the group channels both raucous guitar-driven vitality and reflective moods, drawing on their Mid-Walian heritage and bilingual roots to craft songs that feel simultaneously personal, socially aware, and sonically adventurous. The EP captures their journey from youthful rebellion to a profound connection with home and identity.
“Rhagofn” opens the EP with rousing rock excitement — weaving pulsing bass and climactic guitar swells amidst a spoken-word vocal suaveness. The lift-off into scorching guitar distortion invigorates from the get-go, and quickly showcases the band as plenty capable of enjoyable raucousness. Similarly, in the more introspective realm, they succeed as a ghostly, ethereal vocal presence emerges. Lyrical sentiments of losing one’s keys — and sense of personal direction in general — resonate amidst a dynamic tonal display, stirring across both anthemic vigor and subdued contemplations. The ensuing “Taffy” portrays its titular character’s exploits within a punchy rock ardor, with the vocals asking “what do we do now?” with replay-inducing enthusiasm. Its heavy guitar riffs remind fondly of early Arctic Monkeys.
Another display in eclectic tonal allure, “Middle of the Land” maneuvers successfully from “just another casualty” rumbling post-punk laments to an eerie subduedness and subsequent title-touting heaviness. Meanwhile, EP finale “Nation of Sanctuary” dazzles in its funky bass entrancement and spoken-word/hip-hop vocal immersion. “I feel it. Do you feel it too?” an intensified vocal layering unveils thereafter, delighting there and also in the dreamily, chilling vocal momentum that arrives into the track’s final minute. Mid Welsh, Pt. 1 consistently enthralls in its versatile rock sound and proud Mid-Walian spirit.
They elaborate further on the EP and its inspirations:
“”Mid Welsh part 1 is a collection of five songs about Mid Wales and what it means, to us, to be Mid-Walian. It has been an unexpected journey, from jam sessions to something more meaningful – a chance to deepen our connections with our homes. We met in Welsh-language school where, at the time, we couldn’t wait to leave ‘the least inhabited area of Wales and England’, and we rejected the Welsh we were taught in the classroom. But over two decades, and with the release of music, has come change – we’ve read our history, explored the nooks and crannies of the Cambrians, got political and recognised the colonisation of Wales and the historic attempts to delete the Welsh language.”
“We’ve lived through the ongoing attempts to transform Mid Wales into an asset for the wealthy, and a Disneyland tourist attraction for the masses. Mid Welsh part 1 is our beginning and where we found our true voice. We are so grateful to the process and the way it has shaped our thinking.”
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We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
