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Molina realizes he’s lost in America
With both his former band Songs:Ohia and his current outfit Magnolia Electric Co., Jason has written eloquent odes to travel and women—specifically, the way one precludes the other. Those two driving ideas have never been more overt than on Josephine, his third studio album with the Co., but Molina sounds newly self-conscious on these songs. With the title character appearing in several songs amid frequent descriptions of desert landscape, Josephine sounds like a concept album, at times tedious or academic. “As long as there are sundowns, there will always be the West,” he sings on “Song for Willie,” a lackluster piece of cowboy poetry. But the Co. backs him ably and inventively, adding a gentle sax solo to opener “O! Grace,” early-rock piano to “The Rock of Ages,” and lush harmonies to “Hope Dies Last.” The Co. redeem these songs by creating beautiful scenery for Molina’s long, hard drive.
Listen to Magnolia Electric Co.'s Josephine:
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Wow...you completely failed to mention one of the major driving forces in the creation of this album - MEC's dedication of the record to their recently deceased bass player, Evan Farrell. See quote from label Secretly Canadian's website below. Seems like that might've been worth mentioning, hmm?
And as you can also see from the quote, the reason Josephine "sounds like a concept album" is because IT IS a concept album! While we're at it, when did this arbitrarily become a criticism? Your review automatically equates "concept album" with "tedious" and "academic."
Paste Magazine = Slipping journalistic standards.
From secretlycanadian.com:
Molina's concept album is an honest-to-God effort on the part of Magnolia Electric Co. to pay tribute to the life and spirit of fallen bassist Evan Farrell (R.I.P. December 2007), as the ideas for Josephine were being pieced together. Molina said each tune is a good faith attempt to make real Evan's hopes for the record.
I couldn't agree with "firewhale" more. Not only did you miss the entire basis for the album, but you fail to explain your one major, and perhaps valid, critique that Molina is overly self-conscious here. While it seem to ring true, nothing in your review leads me to understand what you might mean.
Additionally, I think it's a little tough to call a single paragraph a real review of an entire album. This review seems lazy and dashed off. I hope that if a review appears in the magazine, it provides more depth than this.
the album's sadder and greater than ever
i love shenandoah