Songs: Ohia
Ghost Tropic

Release Date: 2000 | Tracklist

Songs: Ohia was never really a true band; the name was simply an umbrella term for various Jason Molina recordings, some of which involve other musicians. As a result the material released under this banner varies a great deal, ranging from 2002’s sparse, predominantly acoustic ‘Didn’t it Rain’ to 2003’s full band alt country classic ‘Magnolia Electric Co.’. Despite these differences in style the band’s discography still feels linked through a shared tone and geography, though intriguingly there remains one conspicuous outsider.

‘Ghost Tropic’ is one of those rare albums that has unparalleled transportive powers; the second you press play you’re swept off to somewhere disorientating and distinctly alien. Molina has a picture in his mind of where this place is and goes to great lengths to plant these same images in yours; yes he titles the album ‘Ghost Tropic’ and samples the sounds of exotic birds, but more subtly he shakes up his usual musical palette with trilling sound effects and ethnic percussion. The raw production works wonders here, these instruments feel so close that they could be in the same room as the listener. This being a Molina release the lyrics are as achingly sad as you’d expect but this time they feel distant and one step removed, almost as if he’s the ghost referred to in the title who’s now floating outside of his own body singing back to himself.

The eight songs progress smoothly with a sense of ebb and flow; ‘Ghost Tropic’ taps into something so elemental you’d hardly be surprised if the album started switching between playing forwards and backwards, possessed by some kind of tidal force. This is a dangerous album to listen to if you want to keep a close track of time; it blurs, it hypnotises and at times practically evaporates into emptiness. As a result ‘Ghost Tropic’ could be accused of skirting close to chill out or new age though you could only imagine a true eccentric using this as their go-to meditation or relaxation tape; there’s an underlying beauty here but it’s of the highly unconventional kind.

Sometimes an artist failing to achieve huge amounts of critical acclaim during their musical career is a blessing in disguise as it allows them to release highly idiosyncratic and niche projects that they’d otherwise be discouraged from pursuing. ‘Ghost Tropic’ is a prime example, that a resolutely offbeat labour of love like this can be released and find an audience should be a source of comfort to us all.

Tweet

Recent reviews by this author
Stuart A. Staples Arrhythmia	Evil Blizzard The Worst Show on Earth
Eleanor Friedberger Rebound	Kanye West ye
Paddy Hanna Frankly, I Mutate	Tom Middleton Sleep Better

user ratings (95)

rate it Awful - 1 Very Poor - 1.5 Poor - 2 Average - 2.5 Good - 3 Great - 3.5 Excellent - 4 Superb - 4.5 Classic - 5

4.1 excellent

Rank: #0 for 2000