Why put a new address on the same old loneliness?
For those unfamiliar with the work of Jason Molina, there’s a fantastic twenty-one-minute meditative documentary from 2005 which follows the band Magnolia Electric Co. as they tour across the Canadian prairies. ‘The Road Becomes What You Know’ has been uploaded to Vimeo by director Todd Chandler. The music, the overall mood and the beautiful cinematography by Ava Berkofsky might help you answer the question: what is americana? Spend some time too on Cam Fraser’s Essentials feature from May 2024, listing their top ten Jason Molina songs. News of this album arrived in July, confirming the high-profile contribution from MJ Lenderman.
For this tribute, twelve US indie rock and alt country artists have produced a collection of renditions honouring Molina. William Schaff, who produced the iconic owl artwork on the album “Magnolia Electric Co.”, has also provided the cover for “I Will Swim to You”. The album features fan favourites; there are five tracks from Cam Fraser’s top ten and three from the “Magnolia Electric Co.” album. But this is not a greatest hits record; there are deeper cuts from across Molina’s impressive, Secretly Canadian discography.
Lenderman kicks off proceedings with ‘Just Be Simple’ and his voice is a credible imitation of Molina’s. Horse Jumper of Love do a reasonable version of the great ‘Blue Factory Flame’, as do Trace Mountains covering ‘The Dark Don’t Hide It’. Then the tracks get more achievable. Sun June’s handling of ‘Leave This City’ works, with Laura Colwell’s unhurried vocals sharing the musical space with her band. What Molina did so easily. ‘When Your Love Has Gone’ allows a Canadian contribution from the alt-country band Runner. It is a beautiful cover. The inclusion of ‘The Old Black Hen’ by Sadurn surprises, just like the original track sung by Lawrence Peters, which followed the sublime opening quartet of songs on “The Magnolia Electric Co.” album. There’s some cracking pedal steel.
There follows an okay synth pop version of ‘Everything Should Try Again’ by Owen Ashworth’s Advance Base. An example of a favourite line you wait for but know only Molina could deliver: “You followed the train through every prairie dawn”. The album title comes from a line in ‘Lioness’. A huge Molina track, Meg Duffy from Hand Habits, surprisingly nails it. Teen Suicide with their version of ‘Whip Poor Will’ almost does. Friends’ version of ‘Hard to Love a Man’ is an interesting interpretation of the original, as is Lutalo’s version of ‘Shadow Answers the Wall’. Unfortunately, the final track, Another Michael’s cover of ‘Farewell Transmission’ just doesn’t belong. It has too obvious a location on the track listing and is one of many great Molina songs left well alone.
There’s no doubting that a sincere reverence prevails throughout this album; Molina exuded a nuance that only he could bring to his words and his music. Frisson could have been his middle name. The artists on “I Will Swim to You” pay due homage to a genius and a complicated soul. 10% of the profits from the sale of this album will go to the MusiCares organisation that helped Molina while he was dealing with his addiction.
Everyone should listen to the songs of Jason Molina. He had such low-fi magnetism, an astonishing way with words, a true spirit of americana. This album attests to the widespread influence he still has over the indie musical landscape of the US.
