Formed in Portland, Oregon, during the summer of 2022, MOLT is comprised of Benjamin Caragol, drums, Joseph McClune, guitar, Jonathan Schmitt, bass, and Stephen Shodin, vocals and guitar. Today, the band launches the pre-order for its forthcoming self-titled effort, which hits the streets via The Ghost Is Clear Records on February 28.

Pre-order the effort here.

Caragol is a multi-instrumentalist and former member of the notable Pacific Northwest bands Burials and Hang the Old Year, as well as guitarist and vocalist for Semuta. McClune played guitar and composed songs in the San Francisco Bay Area band RLND. Schmitt has played bass in Beau Navire, Dry Socket, and Mercy Ties. Shodin played guitar in the NYC-based instrumental band BELLS≥. He was also the vocalist and guitarist for Other Forces.

Caragol and Schmitt have known each other for years. They’d often talked about collaborating, but timing and geography dictated otherwise. By 2019, they were finally in the same place and eager to put something together. Recent Bay Area transplant McClune was recruited to play guitar. Around this time McClune met Shodin through a mutual friend. They bonded over their shared admiration of Dischord Records, the outdoors, and their new hometown of Portland.

Time measured in the context of a global pandemic is fuzzy at best and so are details. At some point when vaccines were readily available, McClune invited Shodin to meet Caragol and Schmitt. After that meeting they all began rehearsing in earnest. They played their first show on April 6, 2023.

Picture courtesy of MOLT