Embarrassing Times

Embarrassing Times is the 2009 debut solo album by Tony Molina.

Background

In 2008, Molina recorded two albums with his band Ovens. He had already written a few songs that “were not totally in the Ovens style." Molina recorded his solo songs when two friends had to cancel studio time with Bart Thurber at the House of Faith recording studio in Oakland. Molina took over the recording time and recorded his solo songs. These recordings became Embarrassing Times.

Beau Monnot, who played with Molina in Dystrophy and Ovens, played drums on tracks 3, 9, and 10. All other instruments are played by Tony Molina.

The album includes four covers of songs by Roy Wood, Telly Savalas, the Dead Milkmen, and Camper Van Beethoven.

Molina has said that this album is one of his favorites, adding, “It was kind of accidental, but it gave me incentive that I was like, ‘OK, maybe I can make another solo record someday.’”

Release

Embarrassing Times was first released in 2009 as a cassette, with a run of 50 copies. These 50 copies came free with the first 50 mail-ordered copies of Ovens (the band's self-titled album) from Aquarius Records. In 2023, Catholic Guilt Records rereleased the album on vinyl in a limited 500 copy run.

Yellow Green Red praised the reissue's "richly melodic guitar-pop" and described the album as "a thrilling glimpse of [Molina's] formative sonic DNA." In a review of On This Day, Post-Trash called Embarrasing Times Molina's "master work." Woody Jagger praised the album on its rerelease, writing, "The Californian returns to the fray with his magic formula of brief, melodic nuggets—a style that resonates so well with Teenage Fanclub, The Byrds, and Weezer."

One track from Embarrasing Times, "I'm Not Down," was later re-released on Molina's compilation album, Songs from San Mateo County.