Josephine is the first proper Magnolia Electric Co. album since 2006's Fading Trails. In 2007, the limited-edition, four-disc Sojourner box set was issued, but it contained mostly released material, demos, and alternate versions of material recorded elsewhere with numerous lineups. Frontman and songwriter Jason Molina is accompanied by a fairly large ensemble, though the palette of instruments still centers around piano, guitars, drums, and a dobro and lapsteel. The music is strictly alternative country-inflected rock, and the arrangements are standard. That said, there is a great comfort in Molina's limited approach to making music. While it's true that the listener will raise her eyebrows at the duet between a saxophone and a piano on the opening "Of Grace," the nearly constant lilt in the grain of his voice belies a kind of disillusionment that is worldweary and disappointed, and never bitter. Standouts on this set include the gorgeous title track, with its Neil Young meets old-time parlor music feel and its dynamite lyrics, to the mournful "Shenandoah" with its sweet meld of steel and electric guitars, to the snarling opening to the spooky "The Handing Down." Along the way are spooky touches such as the B-3 and trap kit vehicle "Little Sad Eyes," which sounds like the end title theme to a motion picture. "Heartbreak at Ten Paces," is a minimal, turtle-paced, mournful, broken love song that belies every bit of sadness Molina can seemingly bear in its lyric and melody. In sum, Josephine is radically different from Magnolia Electric Co.'s preceding records, but it doesn't need to be. Molina has a consistent -- if downcast -- view of the world in his songs, and the canvas he uses to express it does so perfectly.
The first LP from Magnolia Electric Co. since the 2007 death of bass player Evan Farrell, Josephine once again sees singer-songwriter Jason Molina teaming up with producer Steve Albini for another round of tortured indie musings. Like every LP Molina has recorded, Josephine features a smattering of musical jewels along...
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My review of the new album from Magnolia Electric Co. is online at the Tucson Weekly:Josephine finds Jason Molina bound by regret and fits of restless isolation, staring down his ghosts while forging a path of escape through deep shadows and the faraway horizon. The latest album from Magnolia Electric Co. is a somber and deeply evocative work, drenched in images of open sky, sunsets and the
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Magnolia Electric Co.by Michael Miller • July 23, 2009 Magnolia Electric Co.Josephine(Secretly Canadian, 2009)A familiar theme: Band loses beloved member, records concept album in deceased's honor. In the case of Magnolia Electric Co., it's bassist Evan Farrell. May he rest in peace, but musically, his presence—though palpable in the sadness of the group's new album, Josephine—isn't so sore
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Over the course of nearly fifteen years, Magnolia Electric Co's Jason Molina has been there and done that already, and by 'there' and 'that' I mean everywhere and everything (just about), constantly churning out albums under various monikers and involving himself in a number of collaborations. After finally allowing himself a little time between studio releases, Molina and company are back with...
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Note to reviewers. Can you please stop referring to Jason Molina's band Magnolia Electric Co. as alt-country. Based on the evidence of Josephine, the Magnolia Electric Co.'s third studio album, the band are just country, possibly soft rock, but certainly not alternative.Wilco are alt.country, whether their commerciality is pleasing or not to followers of alt-country. Bill Callahan is alt-countr...
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Years from now, we should look back at Magnolia Electric Co. and say that, at the height of their powers -- as they are on Josephine -- they were one of the finest bands going.
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The new album from Magnolia Electric Co. (Jason Molina's band) is titled Josephine and is due out July 21. The album was engineered by Steve Albini at his Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago. I've really dug Molina's many previous recordings, some of which were released under his own name and some under the Songs: Ohia name. Not sure yet about this one.
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Magnolia Electric Co.by Michael Miller • July 23, 2009 Magnolia Electric Co.Josephine(Secretly Canadian, 2009)A familiar theme: Band loses beloved member, records concept album in deceased's honor. In the case of Magnolia Electric Co., it's bassist Evan Farrell. May he rest in peace, but musically, his presence—though palpable in the sadness of the group's new album, Josephine—isn't so sore
More >
Sittinghere, attempting to start a review about this record, I feelunder-equipped in the presence of such footloose lyricism. It’s not acase of competing, but a case of doing justice to an album which formssuch a natural, emotionally enlivening whole. I have had times whereJason Molina’s songwriting (which lies at the heart of MagnoliaElectric Co.
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Note to reviewers. Can you please stop referring to Jason Molina's band Magnolia Electric Co. as alt-country. Based on the evidence of Josephine, the Magnolia Electric Co.'s third studio album, the band are just country, possibly soft rock, but certainly not alternative.Wilco are alt.country, whether their commerciality is pleasing or not to followers of alt-country. Bill Callahan is alt-countr...
More >
Years from now, we should look back at Magnolia Electric Co. and say that, at the height of their powers -- as they are on Josephine -- they were one of the finest bands going.
More >
Over the course of nearly fifteen years, Magnolia Electric Co's Jason Molina has been there and done that already, and by 'there' and 'that' I mean everywhere and everything (just about), constantly churning out albums under various monikers and involving himself in a number of collaborations. After finally allowing himself a little time between studio releases, Molina and company are back with...
More >
My review of the new album from Magnolia Electric Co. is online at the Tucson Weekly:Josephine finds Jason Molina bound by regret and fits of restless isolation, staring down his ghosts while forging a path of escape through deep shadows and the faraway horizon. The latest album from Magnolia Electric Co. is a somber and deeply evocative work, drenched in images of open sky, sunsets and the
More >
Magnolia Electric Co. [photo by Dylan Long]Magnolia Electric Co., led by the incredibly prolific songwriter Jason Molina, have just announced the upcoming release of their latest longplayer (and first full-length since 2006's Fading Trails). Titled Josephine, the album is set to hit stores in the U.S. on July 21st via Secretly Canadian (July 20th in the U.K.)With at least fourteen studio albums t
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“Little Sad Eyes” is the latest song to be released from the upcoming Magnolia Electric Co. album Josephine, which drops July 21 from Secretly Canadian. It’s a bluesy, organ-led tune that furthers the album’s theme of loneliness and loss in the wake bassist Evan Farrell’s death in late 2007. Pre-orders come with a free digital download of the recent 7” It’s Made Me Cry.MP3 :: Little
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You may remember we celebrated “Jason Molina Week” here at PHW last month. You savvy right-clickers of unreleased rarities could have picked up some demos from Magnolia Electric Co., or heard the live North Star Blues Sessions, or even added an entire live radio session to your collection that was recorded over the phone, among several other goodies. It was all a response to the release of Jos
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The first LP from Magnolia Electric Co. since the 2007 death of bass player Evan Farrell, Josephine once again sees singer-songwriter Jason Molina teaming up with producer Steve Albini for another round of tortured indie musings. Like every LP Molina has recorded, Josephine features a smattering of musical jewels along...
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Magnolia Electric Co. 's newest album Josephine is due out July 20th (21st in the US) and to start promoting the upcoming record, the band haven given away this new track. The song is the title track from the record and is a rather beautiful foray into gentle alternative song-writing and accessible atmospherics.
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Magnolia Electric Co. just released details about their forthcoming album, Josephine. I had a chance to hear some of the new stuff from Molina and the boys when they opened for The Avett Brothers at The Fillmore. It looks like it’ll be another solid effort from a great band. If you don’t own them already, [...]
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This is yet another of those bands that we've come across from time to time but never really paid enough attention in order to recall later on. Jason Molina is the man behind this act and has already realeased a dozen (or more) records under the name Songs:Ohia before recording his last LP titled Magnolia Electric Co. This signaled the stage name change to Magnolia Electric Co along with a few ...
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MP3: Magnolia Electric Co. - "Josephine" from Josephine, due July 21 on Secretly Canadian. "I've turned your life so upside-down / I don't know how you stayed or why." So begins the title track from Jason Molina's latest album. Doesn't...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 O! Grace |
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| 2 The Rock of Ages |
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| 3 Josephine |
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| 4 Shenandoah |
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| 5 Whip-Poor-Will |
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| 6 Song for Willie |
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| 7 Hope Dies Last |
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| 8 The Handing Down |
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| 9 Map of the Falling Sky |
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| 10 Little Sad Eyes |
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| 11 Heartbreak at Ten Paces |
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| 12 Knoxville Girl |
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| 13 Shiloh |
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| 14 An Arrow in the Gale |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Josephine")
