A lot of folks know Molly Thomas as the violinist (or fiddler, depending on the song) who’s backed just about every folky alt-rocker in Nashville — Todd Snider, Will Hoge, Matthew Ryan and Will Kimbrough, to name just a few. But that’s only part of the story. She’s also a roots-pop singer-songwriter with a strong point-of-view and a way of expressing it that leaves the sharp edges on, often to exhilarating result. There are moments on her new album —
Make Everything Bright, which she co-produced with Robert Plant drummer Marco Giovino — when she comes off like a southern Sam Phillips. Not Phillips the Sun Records mastermind, but Phillips the heady psych-pop singer-songwriter. A case in point: “The Opportunist,” a portrait of a flawed personality that sounds like it sprang from a music box. There’s more where that came from — and clearly more to Thomas.
— Jewly Hight