Molass at The Night Owl - 13/11/2024

Soul Sessions returned to the Night Owl with a headline performance from Molass, who are currently on their UK tour all the way from Germany! Molass was joined by Coventry artists Serena Jasmine who opened with a chilled set, and Sonar who brought a bit more drama to the mix!

Serena Jasmine

Serena Jasmine’s set had a really chilled atmosphere, with the gentle drum grooves and sax tone creating a relaxed and calm environment. The drum part sounded (deliberately) quite broken up in its articulation which created a nice contrast between other instruments that were performed very smoothly. The keys in this set, although dominant in the mix, played smooth arrangements and plenty of jazzy solos which also further reinforced the gentle atmosphere in the room.

Serena interacted well with the audience by getting them to chant some of her lyrics and encouraging them to slow dance, and successfully got the audience to sway to her music.

Personally, I feel like there could have been slightly more dynamic and melodic variation and contrast between verses and choruses, however I understand that this has to be balanced, due to the style of Serena’s music, which may mean she does not want to have too dramatic changes, to keep the mood calm and relaxing.

This was a really good set from a group of very talented musicians and Serena jasmine is definitely an artist to watch!

Sonar

During their set, Sonar announced that this was their first gig playing originals. Especially with this considered, this was an incredibly strong set. Sonar’s music is powerful, dramatic and includes lots of complex and busy arrangements from drums, bass, keys, vocals, guitar and an Ableton Push (or similar piece of equipment). All of the instruments play a part and work well together to create this sense of drama. With well-placed drops, crash/cymbal-heavy drums emotional guitar solos. Sonar covered the recently trending ‘Birds of a Feather’ by Billie Eilish and performed it incredibly well, capturing the intended atmosphere of the song perfectly.

Sonar were incredibly open with their audience about getting the odd lyric wrong, but in a way that was transparent and funny and people didn’t mind. The band’s chemistry on stage was fantastic and the band clearly gel together very well.

I would love to see Sonar develop the variety of their lyrics further, as at least one of their originals seemed to repeat one short phrase very often for quite a long time, but overall this was a phenomenal set and Sonar are an incredibly skilled, loveable band.

Molass

The first thing I noticed about Molass’ set when they took to the stage was ‘Wow, that’s a lot of tech.’ Their set didn’t go on for long before the practicality of this equipment became abundantly clear*. Molass’ use of effects and electronic sounds is one of the factors that makes their set unique. These sounds aid the drama and the power in their performance, with the main driving forces of this drama and power being their songwriting and arranging and their stage presence. Molass really put on a powerful performance with lots of movement and hand gestures to emphasise points made in the songs.

*It’s important to note that the use of tech in this set was absolutely not a compensation for lack of skill. Every single member of Molass is immensely skilled on their instrument. From the complex drum fills to the absolutely all-round beautiful lead vocals, the bands’ skill leaves absolutely nothing to be desired. The use of tech in this set was the perfect way to further aid these arrangements.

The sounds that they created were extremely versatile, and worked for fast and upbeat music, as well as slow and emotional. All of the performers in the band have, individually and as a group, excellent control over stopping and starting to time their drops and breaks perfectly and totally in time.

Molass interacted well with the audience and showed a huge amount of appreciation for the support on their UK tour. The audience loved how Molass’ intense and powerful sound was accompanied by humble, friendly, warm personalities. The band are very approachable, and the audience visibly enjoyed engaging with them, even during the set.

This was a really notable gig from Soul Sessions, featuring a lot of experimental instrumentation from extremely talented songwriters and artists. All of these artists are worth checking out and Soul Sessions is an event that is definitely worth following!

Also available on TJPL News/Plectrum Magazine