Last time we spoke to Molly Brandt was June 11, 2023, three years later we’re talking to her about her upcoming album, Museum of Being. (Molly did release another album in 2024 – American Saga.) The new album is celebration of place and people and times. There’s something profoundly personal and universal about the songs. Be sure to check it out on June 12 at the Icehouse.
Can you catch us up on you since we last spoke? How is releasing the third album different from the first?
With this third album, I feel my musical partner Eric Carranza and I have had much more creative control over things. We recorded and mixed everything in our home studio which was awesome and I’m really proud of the result! I’m operating with a more DIY approach to everything which is partially due to budget constraints, partially due to the things I’ve learned releasing other albums that I spent way too much money on, and also because I like having creative control. We’ve also got a new configuration in our band – we are now a 7-piece band that includes 2 new members. Our live show this year will feature a lot more synth / keyboard sounds and rich 4-part harmonies. I think if I had to be honest, ultimately what’s changed the most is my mindset. I know keenly the flaws of the music industry and my place within it. It feels very disheartening to operate an industry that feels like it’s dying, or at least the income inequality between the biggest artists and the smallest ones (aka me) has grown significantly. What I’m trying to maintain in my mind is a semblance of acceptance and personal fulfillment. I make the music/art because I want to and because I feel I have to for my own personal joy and growth. I am not as concerned with popularity or profits anymore. All I want to focus on now is the quality of the art and how I feel about it. If I am confident that I like my own art, that’s all that matters. If others like it too or get something out of it, it’s a cherry on top, but is not necessary for me to ascribe worth to my art or myself as an artist!
I thought I was the biggest booster for St Paul until I heard your two songs (Saint Paul #1 and Saint Paul #2) dedicated to St Paul on your upcoming album, Museum of Being. What spurred songs about St Paul? I think you nailed the relationship between St Paul and Minneapolis – at least from the St Paul side of the River, which is really the only side I know.
We moved to Saint Paul about 3 years ago and I had been living in Minneapolis for the last 3 years. In this span of time, I’ve really grown to love Saint Paul as I explore it and learn about it more. In my little neighborhood near the State Fair and the Como Lake, I take walks almost everyday around the neighborhood, whether that’s going to the park, or just walking around neighborhoods and admiring the houses/yards I pass by. I absolutely love noticing the details, smelling every single flower, and taking film photos. During the summer/spring in 2025, I was really struggling with the descent into fascism (still am), but those walks, getting connected with my community, and being with those I love really helped me out. I also really loved the idea that Saint Paul is part of my “Museum” so to speak and is a corner of the world worth celebrating and keeping. When it feels like the world is going to shit, I take appreciation in the little things that we still cherish. That’s really what gets me through life in America.
One of the things I like about the new album is that it is personal but not without a global or historical lens. It’s about our places in the world, about the “Museum of Being.” I’d like to hear more about that approach and how it emerged.
You’re exactly on the money with that! Before Eric and I came up with the concept, I had written just a few songs, but then I think Eric and I were chatting one day and he had brought up the phrase “Museum of Being”. This is what he used to call his old apartment when he lived in an artist loft in Lowertown. During Art Crawl, he would open up his space to people. Eric also has a lot of art in his collection from artist friends at that loft throughout the years. I thought it was a great phrase and something that could encompass a wide range of interpretations. I wrote the song “Museum of Being” after that conversation and I imagined myself as the museum – I am a collection of all the experiences I’ve had and people I’ve come into contact with. My home is also a museum and so is my community. This idea of preserving memories, preserving knowledge, cherishing our loved ones, cherishing our belongings, rang so true to me. I started studying lots of different subjects through reading books and consuming a lot of new media (podcasts, movies, tv, etc.) and I used those things I learned to formulate songs. Those formulated the exhibits in my museum. I have songs that speak on topics like the Dust Bowl, American history writ-large, the passage of time, memories with friends and family, my community, my relationship with objects from the past and their meaning in the present, the preservation of knowledge, and more. It’s a broad topic that I think people can formulate their own relationships with this idea of a “museum of being”. It also brought me a lot of solace and comfort again as I navigate the U.S. descent into fascism.
What was it like to work on an album with your fiancé?
It was the coolest thing ever. We work so well together and Eric is always so incredibly supportive of me and my ideas and he does a great job of helping me nurture them and bringing his own ideas into the mix. I almost always love his ideas and trust him fully to understand the artistic direction of things. We grew even closer through this project and we marvel every single day at how cool it is that we not only get to be life/love partners, but also musical/creative partners. I feel incredibly lucky to have him and I know for a fact, none of this would be possible without him. Also, getting to record in our own home together made the process so much less rushed and much more intentional. We could spend as much time as we wanted getting the right sounds recorded and mixed. I felt super comfortable and open to being vulnerable and stretching our creativity out of the bounds of what we thought was possible. Eric is always challenging me and I’ve become a much better musician and songwriter because of him.
Please tell us about the upcoming release show.
Release show is on June 12 at Icehouse from 8pm-11pm. Our openers are local bands: Seven Pines and fruitform. They are awesome. My 7-piece band has been rehearsing weekly for months now and we will perform the record front-to-back with really high quality production value – we’ve got a special lighting tech to make it a total vibe in there. It’s just going to be a rock solid show. The record also features a duet song between me and my dad, Blake Brandt, who will also be guest-singing with us that night. This is his first time doing anything like this, so it’s going to be really sweet. We also have a guest trumpet player, and a guest saxophone and flute player. It will be incredible and it really feels like the biggest artistic live show endeavor I’ve ever been part of. Really excited. Let me know if you guys want on the list!
Mostly Minnesota 