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Reviews

Molo — This Is Earth
(Apollon Records AP241, 2026, CD / LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2026-09-04

This Is Earth Cover art

Elling Ulvestad is a songwriter from the Planet Earth who leads a band called Molo. Several years ago, I wrote about the album Earthsongs, and now we have the band’s second album, This Is Earth. The primary feature of the new album is that the quality of the songwriting remains at the same high level – these are just good songs presented with relatively few extraneous frills. Ulvestad plays acoustic guitar and sings, and he’s joined by bassist Erlend Gjøen, drummer Sondre Brudvik Søreide, electric guitarist Tom Erik Brudvik, and pianist Marianne Bruvik Stene, who also sings backup. That’s it. No banjos, violins, or even other keyboards (aside from an uncredited harmonica). Some references would be singer-songwriters like Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, John Hiatt, and Dave Cousins (outside of the more elaborate Strawbs stuff). There is some range of moods in spite of the limited instrumentation. “The Fire” is an acoustic tune with only minimal drums; “Eurydice” is a country waltz; “The Ghost of History” and “Highway to Fame” touch on rock; and “Gaia (Keep Her Bouyant)” is basically a sea chanty. Every aspect of This Is Earth is very well done, from the expressive singing to the tasteful arrangements, allowing the quality of the songwriting to shine through.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Molo

 

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