Magnolia Electric Co. Josephine
(Secretly Canadian)
If one thing can be said about Jason Molina, it’s that he’s prolific. Over thirteen years, Molina has released around sixteen albums under various monikers. Prince would be jealous of that kind of work rate. Despite reliably releasing at least one full record every year, Josephine ends a three year gap in productivity; that is, if we ignore 2007’s box set Sojourner. The immediate question, of course, is whether any thing has changed musically since Magnolia Electric Co. (Molina’s current project) released Fading Trails in 2006?
Purists will be glad to hear that nothing of note has changed. Having one of the most distinctive voices in rock and generally sticking to the same alt-country template with every album guarantees that Josephine has the same characteristics shared by most Magnolia Electric Co. releases. The songs deal with the usual topics of desperation, loneliness, and longing. The same ghosts are still haunting Jason Molina, and it’s this stalwart dependability that is at once a curse and a blessing. On the one hand, Josephine is as good a representation of Magnolia Electric Co. as any of their other albums. On the other, it’s almost too good a representation. There are no real stand-out tracks here, and Molina sounds more comfortable than he ever has. If anything, it’s the most countrified record he’s released and, as such, lacks some of the more distinctive and heart-breaking qualities shared by his best work.
This isn’t the only problem that plagues this record, however. It’s too long, and there are too many tracks here. Although, at 47 minutes, it runs as long as some of the best Songs: Ohia records, like Didn’t It Rain and Magnolia Electric Co., a lack of focus in the song writing suggests that some careful editing would have gone a long way here. Tracks like Hope Dies Last with its reprise of the title track’s chorus line feel like unnecessary attempts to create cohesion and maintain a theme. Similarly, as good as it is, closer An Arrow In The Gale feels underdeveloped and might have been better left on the cutting room floor.
Even the production feels a little samey. At his best, Steve Albini manages to capture raw live performances incredibly atmospherically but here he feels entirely superfluous. You could have told me the band had produced this record and I would have believed you. It just goes to show that (sometimes) great producers and great bands don’t necessarily produce great work together, as hard as that is to swallow.
This isn’t necessarily a bad record. As that journalistic cliché goes, even X’s worst work is better than most people’s best, and Jason Molina is definitely an “X”. There is some good stuff here and, to be honest, he could probably front Coldplay and I’d get the album, but there’s nothing on a par with his best work. New listeners would be better off checking out 2006’s underrated Fading Trails or any of the aforementioned Songs: Ohia albums. Of course, it’s nice to have Magnolia Electric Co. back after the three year gap and, if Molina is to be believed, more music will be on the way soon, but let’s hope Josephine is the sound of a band just gearing up to makes something wonderful again, rather than falling back into their comfort zone.
15 June, 2009 - 21:33 — Nick Fenn
Purists will be glad to hear that nothing of note has changed. Having one of the most distinctive voices in rock and generally sticking to the same alt-country template with every album guarantees that Josephine has the same characteristics shared by most Magnolia Electric Co. releases. The songs deal with the usual topics of desperation, loneliness, and longing. The same ghosts are still haunting Jason Molina, and it’s this stalwart dependability that is at once a curse and a blessing. On the one hand, Josephine is as good a representation of Magnolia Electric Co. as any of their other albums. On the other, it’s almost too good a representation. There are no real stand-out tracks here, and Molina sounds more comfortable than he ever has. If anything, it’s the most countrified record he’s released and, as such, lacks some of the more distinctive and heart-breaking qualities shared by his best work.
This isn’t the only problem that plagues this record, however. It’s too long, and there are too many tracks here. Although, at 47 minutes, it runs as long as some of the best Songs: Ohia records, like Didn’t It Rain and Magnolia Electric Co., a lack of focus in the song writing suggests that some careful editing would have gone a long way here. Tracks like Hope Dies Last with its reprise of the title track’s chorus line feel like unnecessary attempts to create cohesion and maintain a theme. Similarly, as good as it is, closer An Arrow In The Gale feels underdeveloped and might have been better left on the cutting room floor.
Even the production feels a little samey. At his best, Steve Albini manages to capture raw live performances incredibly atmospherically but here he feels entirely superfluous. You could have told me the band had produced this record and I would have believed you. It just goes to show that (sometimes) great producers and great bands don’t necessarily produce great work together, as hard as that is to swallow.
This isn’t necessarily a bad record. As that journalistic cliché goes, even X’s worst work is better than most people’s best, and Jason Molina is definitely an “X”. There is some good stuff here and, to be honest, he could probably front Coldplay and I’d get the album, but there’s nothing on a par with his best work. New listeners would be better off checking out 2006’s underrated Fading Trails or any of the aforementioned Songs: Ohia albums. Of course, it’s nice to have Magnolia Electric Co. back after the three year gap and, if Molina is to be believed, more music will be on the way soon, but let’s hope Josephine is the sound of a band just gearing up to makes something wonderful again, rather than falling back into their comfort zone.