Molasses

Molasses was an avant-folk ensemble led by singer/songwriter Scott Chernoff, featuring a revolving cast of musicians from throughout the Montreal music scene, including members of groups like <a href="spotify:artist:4svpOyfmQKuWpHLjgy4cdK">Godspeed You! Black Emperor</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7N0ceyBaroraISr1hoECzv">Set Fire to Flames</a>. The group were praised for their intimate, candlelit performances, often accompanied by slide projections or silent films. Debuting with the drunken slowcore folk of 1999's You'll Never Be Well No More, Molasses released three additional albums, with the 2003 double-disc epic A Slow Messe being their most ambitious and experimental work.

Molasses began performing around Montreal in 1998, often giving free concerts at the city's Bar Miami. Their performances featured unconventional instrumentation such as scrap metal and singing saws, and the music incorporated country ballads, noise, free jazz, and poetry, among other genres. The group's stripped-down debut, You'll Never Be Well No More, was recorded at Montreal's Hotel2Tango loft/rehearsal space, with musicians including <a href="spotify:artist:4svpOyfmQKuWpHLjgy4cdK">Godspeed</a> member and <a href="spotify:artist:0bRpSBtMd3stO4J6TWclMb">A Silver Mt. Zion</a> co-founder Thierry Amar and composer/improviser <a href="spotify:artist:1OZmReqFcR27PYkYyPf5z0">Sam Shalabi</a>. The album was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Alien8%22">Alien8</a> imprint <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fancy+Records%22">Fancy Records</a> in 1999. Second album Trilogie: Toil & Peaceful Life, featuring violinist Kate Lawrence and including a 14-minute adaptation of "Amazing Grace," followed in 2000.

Three years later, Molasses returned with A Slow Messe, an elaborate double CD that included appearances by <a href="spotify:artist:7GDnE7jgpOYJ2eAibkA0Uc">Thalia Zedek</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0bOrkDLzYe57Zl803Zv8ww">Chris Brokaw</a>, vocalist Jennifer Ménard, and numerous additional musicians. Many of these artists returned for Trouble at Jinx Hotel, which appeared on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Alien8%22">Alien8</a> proper in 2004. Molasses contributed a track to I Am a Cold Rock. I Am Dull Grass: A Tribute to the Music of Will Oldham, which was released later in the year, but the group appears to have been inactive since then. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi