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Magnolia Electric Co.
Josephine
By Brian Baker
Over the past decade and a half, first with Songs: Ohia and then with Magnolia Electric Co., Jason Molina has established himself as a gifted and prolific purveyor of indie alt-country. In many ways, Molina is Salieri to Jeff Tweedy’s Mozart, without the ego-driven jealousy quotient; Molina is perfectly content with his brilliantly quirky work, his place in the musical food chain and his rabidly loyal fan base. Although it’s been three years since MECo’s last missive, the fantastic Fading Trails, Molina has been both manically busy and personally devastated. In the course of recording a couple of solo albums, assembling the exquisite Sojourner box set, an EP to accompany a book on Will Schaff’s artwork, completing a collaboration with Centro-Matic’s Will Johnson and writing the latest MECo album Josephine, the band experienced the tragic loss of bassist Evan Farrell, who died from smoke inhalation after an apartment fire in December 2007. Presciently, Molina envisioned Josephine as a song cycle about the death of a young girl and channeled his sadness over Farrell’s passing into the fabric of the album.
Molina sets the pace with “O! Grace,” a piano-driven tune that sounds like a stripped down Son Volt tribute to Warren Zevon. When Molina delivers the tremulous line, “I’ve been as lonesome as the world’s first ghost,” it’s evident that Josephine is going to be an emotional ride. The sparse instrumentation on Josephine gives it a sonic intimacy and perhaps the most classically country feel of any MECo to date, from the sad waltz of “The Rock of Ages,” to the aching Jay Farrar-meets-Jimmy Webb expanse of “Shenandoah” to the John Doe alt-country croon of “Hope Dies Last” to the Van Morrisonesque pop soul of “Song For Willie.” Forged by tragedy and guided by minimalist simplicity, Molina and Magnolia Electric Co. have stepped back from the visceral edge to craft Josephine into a heartbreakingly beautiful tour de force.
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