Photo: Bandcamp
In 2015, Australian-born musician Molly Lewis won first place in the female section of the Live Band Accompaniment Division at 2015's Masters of Musical Whistling in Los Angeles. She’d been entering in competitions for three years.
Since then she’s collaborated with hip-hop legend Dr Dre, appeared on the Barbie soundtrack, and been profiled by the likes of The New Yorker, The Guardian, and the New York Times. Now based in LA, she’s been described as North America’s premiere whistler, and recently released her debut album.
After studying film at the University of Sydney, Lewis relocated to LA hoping to work in the movie biz. She told Hero Magazine “taking the whistling world by storm was an afterthought”. Her songs do evoke soundtracks though, and not just because they’re instrumental; there’s a cinematic scope to her work.
It often evokes scores of the past; a hint of Ennio Morricone’s spaghetti Westerns, blended with other film genres of the ‘60s and‘ 70s.
On ‘Silhouette’, she’s joined by The Menahan Street Band, which features artists on the Daptone roster - members of Antibalas, The Dap Kings, and more - and you can imagine the results playing over some ageing footage.
Café Molly was the name of a weekly club night hosted by Lewis, where she and some interchangeable guests performed cover versions - led by her whistling, of course - in a celebration of lounge music. That’s the chief influence here: in her video for ‘Lounge Lizard’, a Cary Grant-esque figure dances, then unleashes a saxophone solo.
During recording the studio housed a vintage tiki bar, and musicians came and went. In an interview with Under the Radar Lewis says it’s hard to remember who played what. The idea was to emulate a night at Café Molly.
The Molly Lewis brand draws on the past, and leans into a tongue-in-cheek aesthetic. On video and in interviews it can almost seem apologetic, like she’s aware whistling might seem gimmicky, and wants to counter it with a wink.
But the music is often sincere, and easily rises above pastiche. It’s also eclectic, with big synth washes and tinkling ivories on ‘Cocosette’, and support from another Daptone outfit, Thee Sacred Souls, on ‘Crushed Velvet’.
Then there’s her instrument of choice, which is full of more feeling and nuance than you might think possible. Her position as America’s premiere whistler is one that’s well earned.
