Songs:Ohia
http://www.songsohia.com

styles: indie rock, alt country
others: Lambchop, Cat Power
 
Magnolia Electric Co.
Secretly Canadian, 2003
rating: 9.0
reviewer: tamec

For those of you not privileged to hear this masterpiece yet, get ready to spend. Jason Molina is an amazing prolific artist who has managed to improve upon each release. Like fellow indie solo-slash-ringleader of collaboration honcho Phil Elvrum of the Microphones, Molina succeeds best when he gathers friends to back him up. We saw some of this in the warm backup vocals he dabbled most in on his most recent album, Didn't It Rain. Magnolia Electric Co. is a full-fledged band project, lush with strings, slide guitar, and plenty of "ooohs" in the background. This sounds less like textbook spare Songs:Ohia than it does like full-on country outfits like The Court and Spark. Parts of more than one Oldham are to be found here, and Molina even lets guests (including a lovely go by Scout Niblett) take over the vocals on a pair of tracks. There's hardly a weak spot on this lovely record, but I must say that the bulk of Magnolia Electric Co. can't quite match its phenomenal opener, "Farewell Transmission." Even so, this record comes with full recommendation to fans of anything indie, country, or anything in between.

1. Farewell Transmission
2. I've Been Riding with the Ghost
3. Just Be Simple
4. Almost Was Good Enough
5. The Old Black Hen
6. Peoria Lunch Box Blues
7. John Henry Split My Heart
8. Hold On Magnolia



Didn't It Rain
Secretly Canadian, 2002
rating: 8.2
reviewer: tamec

Songs:Ohia, for the uninitiated, is essentially guitarist/singer/songwriter Jason Molina, a native of close to the same part of Northeast Ohio that this reviewer hails from. Molina has been recording under the Songs:Ohia moniker for about five years now, with an ever-changing lineup of backup musicians. His formula is spare, sincere folk, simple strums of a guitar tuned to match his striking voice, and deep, poetic lyrics. Molina has modified his style slightly with each subsequent album: "Axxess and Ace" featured some actual
catchiness, "The Lioness" had drony keyboards, and "Ghost Tropic" was haunted with ambient segues. Didn't It Rain, the latest release for the steady-producing Molina, enlists more backup musicians, a welcome addition as I'd always loved the contributions of Edith Frost to songs like "Captain Badass" on "Axxess and Ace." Here, female backup is present on most songs, giving the album a more Appalacian/country feel. There are only seven tracks here, so each is an exercise in paying attention and trying not to be put to sleep by the slow tempo of the songs. Molina's voice is far too interesting to listen to as background music, so this is certainly a release that requires patience and attention; you can hear the strings scrape and the singers breathe. Either you love Songs:Ohia or you hate them; to recommend this release for die-hard fans is to recommend it for all fans. Naturally, I do.

1. Didn't It Rain
2. Steve Albini's Blues
3. Ring The Bell
4. Cross The Road, Molina
5. Blue Factory Flame
6. Two Blue Lights
7. Blue