MAGNOLIA ELECTRIC CO.
Trials & Errors
Secretly Canadian
·Debt paid, all clear.
It takes a smart man to admit his debts to those who have come before, and the heavy shadow of Neil Young & Crazy Horse that hangs over Songs:Ohia’s Jason Molina’s every note is one that’s never been denied. That Molina not only acknowledges Young’s influence but embraces and transcends it is his greatest success. (To wit: the original idea behind Trials & Errors, the first record released under Songs:Ohia’s new Magnolia Electric Co. moniker, lifted from the former group’s final album, was intended as a tour-only double 12-inch set composed largely of Young covers captured live – that it is instead strictly Molina’s originals is not a defeat, but a far wiser move).
Of the Songs:Ohia tunes included, Magnolia transform "Almost Was Good Enough" into a lengthy guitar workout (cue Crazy Horse mention here), while "Ring The Bell" and "Cross The Road, Molina" are stripped of their acoustic studio sparseness and given the full rock band treatment (much in the same way the rambling pluck of "Cabwaylingo" was spruced up with a big rock ending on Songs:Ohia’s 2001 live album, Mi Sei Apparso Come Un Fantasma). Of the brand-spanking new offerings (three of which will make their way to the upcoming Steve Albini-produced studio album, four which won’t), "Such Pretty Eyes For a Snake" follows in Molina’s long line of animalistic torture ballads, while Mike Capinus’s mournful trumpet propels the elegiac "Leave The City" and "The Last 3 Human Words" into all new territory. It’s amazing how the addition of just one new instrument in Molina’s arsenal adds so much.
As a statement of intent, the live document of the band Molina has always wanted (recorded 18 months ago in Brussels – one can’t help but imagine how much better they’ve gotten since) draws the battle plan clearly. The debt’s always going to be there, but when the results are this good, Molina stands as an equal rather than a copycat. The dude’s an incredible student. Young should be proud.
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