Lisa Molinaro knows how to turn an impasse into art. “We All Get Stuck,” from the singer and musician’s debut full-length album, Blind Trust, uses a propulsive, yet repetitive rhythm that mimics pushing through the frustration. Strings build and then the drums release near the song’s conclusion, like a breakthrough for both the musician and the listener.
“It’s cathartic, but it’s mildly cathartic,” says Portland-based Molinaro during a recent video call. “You don’t get a full release.”
Molinaro, a former member of Talkdemonic and Modest Mouse who has also played viola with The National and The Decemberists, wanted to incorporate col legno, where you play with the stick side of the bow, on the song. “I always found that to be a really fun way to hear strings,” she says. “It’s not very common. Radiohead has used it. It’s in a lot of classical music. The little dunk dunk dunk.” That and tight, almost machine-like, drums give the song its momentum. Then, there’s what Molinaro calls an “anti-chorus,” where she sings alongside a pizzicato. “I wanted there to be really punctuated things in the song,” she explains.
“We All Get Stuck” is core to Blind Trust. “To me, that song represents the theme of the album in general, where you can mess up, you can do nothing, and you can start. Today is the day to do it,” Molinaro says. “You can forgive yourself for what you’ve done or haven’t done if what you want to do is what you’re doing right now.”
The multi-instrumentalist moved to Portland in the early ‘00s and wanted to make music from the get-go. “I was doing it solo style with whatever I could do it on, like a cheap keyboard and acoustic guitar and, of course, viola,” she says. “I had always been wanting to write my own music.”
But, Molinaro soon became in-demand for studio work. “Back then, it was not that common to have strings in the studio,” she recalls. “It was kind of new for Portland, so I was getting considerable requests.” Molinaro worked on her own music on the side, but wasn’t focused on releasing it. “I got enough gratification from contributing,” she says.
After joining Modest Mouse, recording and playing with them became her priority and any solo ambitions were put on the backburner. Eventually, though, the pandemic hit, leaving Molinaro with more time at home. Then, Modest Mouse downsized and Molinaro was without a job. “That was the screeching halt kind of thing, where I was like what am I doing with myself? I had a purpose, I had a lane that I was in and I felt safe,” she says. “Whatever metaphorical impasse that I got to…that’s when I realized that I needed to take myself more seriously.”
Molinaro had amassed bits of songs over the years, but she wasn’t sure if she should continue working on old material. “I fought with that a little— It’s old. I should write this album as an album right now— but I got over that,” she says. “Good is good whether it was a month ago or five years ago or whatever. So, I did develop a couple of those older demos.”
The bulk of Blind Trust, though, was written over about eight months. Much of it Molinaro recorded on her own and ventured to the studio for the parts she knew weren’t in her wheelhouse.
With Blind Trust, Molinaro takes the opportunity to bring strings to the forefront in ways that are unconventional, but still work with pop song structures. And while that instinct may have been cultivated as a string player working with indie rock bands, there are also skills involved that Molinaro honed while playing in orchestras, which she did throughout her youth.
“It’s been very helpful to have an orchestral background,” says Molinaro, explaining that violists can be seated in various different parts of the orchestra. “I can hear everything,” she says. “It helped me develop an ear that can take in everything separately and pull it all together.”
As for bringing these songs to the concert stage, Molinaro says that will take some planning. “When you have a lot of time on your own, you can keep building, building and then you’ve made this really nicely produced sound and it’s big. It has a lot of parts,” she says. “So how do you take that and translate it into a live setting where you want to fulfill that sound but kind of can’t because you would have twenty people on stage?”
It’s something that Molinaro, who also teaches music, is thinking about for the future. She says, “I have some great, talented friends who are not just willing to help, but are really excited about participating.”
Blind Trust by Lisa Molinaro is out now.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Follow on Instagram or sign up for the weekly, Beatique newsletter for updates on new stories and gigs.
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