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User
Reviews 16
Approval 76%
Soundoffs 7
Album Ratings 1813
Objectivity 67%
Last Active 04-18-17 4:23 am
Joined 02-28-14
Review Comments 68
| Jason Molina "ranked"
There are EPs and live albums I'm leaving off the list because I'm not as familiar. I more just wanted to pay homage to an incredible songwriter. All of these works are great! | | 18 |  | Magnolia Electric Co
What Comes After the Blues
I appreciate the bluesy side of Jason's work, but I always preferred the darker and more spectral side. Hammer Down is a great song though. | | 17 |  | Songs: Ohia
Songs: Ohia
The debut, it's cool to see where he started. I don't connect with the actual songs as much as the later work, but I appreciate the performance. It was recorded in someone's house in Ohio on an 8 track | | 16 |  | Jason Molina
Autumn Bird Songs
I don't remember much about this EP, I remember it being nice though. | | 15 |  | Magnolia Electric Co
Fading Trails
Kind of blends in with What Comes After the Blues, I think there's some better songs on here though. The Old Horizon, Spanish Moon Fall and Rise, and Steady Now. I think they did them even better in the later re-recordings. I think in Sojourner. | | 14 |  | Songs: Ohia
The Ghost
Where we start to get into the more creepy stuff. I like it | | 13 |  | Magnolia Electric Co
Magnolia Electric Co
This is the classic that everyone points to. Recorded with Albini at electrical audio. I definitely tip my hat to it but it's not the ceiling for them. | | 12 |  | Jason Molina
Eight Gates
These were his last recordings, supposedly. Recorded in London, isolated from his friends in the states. There's both loneliness and swagger in the recordings, not sure how to best explain that. This grew on me with time. It recalls the bleak guitar sound on Pyramid Electric Co. It's brief and sparse, but seems to be a fitting close to his life's work. I really would have loved to see what he would have done next though. | | 11 |  | Magnolia Electric Co
Sojourner
A big, daring swing, lots of songs, recorded in 4 different places, meshed together to make a big collection. I appreciate the grandness of the idea. | | 10 |  | Songs: Ohia
Axxess and Ace
I connected with this one right away. The romantic themes are nice. Very lo-fi, but lends itself well to the songs. And I love the album cover. | | 9 |  | Songs: Ohia
The Lioness
Recorded in Scotland, potentially with Mogwai's equipment? Wasn't sure if that was just a rumor. Really great recording. And a haunting, long opener, The Black Crow. This was when the band was starting to hit a new plateau. | | 8 |  | Jason Molina
Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go
The 2nd solo album, swapping electric for acoustic, and lots of dark reverb. These might be some of Jason's most hopeless, desperate songs. It's not easy to listen to a lot, but it's legendary | | 7 |  | Songs: Ohia
Ghost Tropic
I think this was recorded with a whole different band than the Lioness musicians. I might be wrong. But I think Jason didn't tell them he was doing this and they were pretty pissed off. I think he used a baritone guitar. Recorded in Nebraska with Mike Mogis. There are some really entrancing songs on here, that repeat over and over again, very chant-like. It's hypnotic and inspiring. The Body Burned Away is a standout. I don't know why he was so fixated on tropical ghosts, but it does take 2 themes that I don't necessarily think about together, so I give him credit for that. Probably not a good first album of his to listen to, but it's very rewarding. | | 6 |  | Songs: Ohia
Impala
The 2nd Songs: Ohia album, I think recorded in Kentucky. I connected with this one much much more than the self titled. The vocal control and accuracy he has in these songs is very impressive, and it feels unique, it's hard to place any influences that he might have had vocally. I wouldn't be surprised if Maynard from tool took influence from Jason. You gotta love these song titles too | | 5 |  | Molina and Johnson
Molina and Johnson
Reading the biography, Riding with the Ghost, they talk about the making of this album. I wasn't familiar with Will Johnson but his style pairs unexpectedly well with Jason's, and the songs stand toe to toe with each other. It isn't Jason's strongest performance overall, but I think his demeanor in this album adds to the overall feeling, and makes sense with the context of where he was at in life. Jason's 34 Blues might be one of his best songs ever. And I absolutely love the sound of these recordings. Very creaky, dark, but you can really hear everything. Very natural sounding, and roomy. | | 4 |  | Songs: Ohia
Protection Spells
This might have been the first thing I heard from Jason, it was sent to me by a friend. I believe it was made by the band while on tour; super lo-fi. This is super haunting, cool stuff. Some amazing imagery in the lyrics. The themes that he keeps bringing up throughout his career are mythical, simple, universal themes. They evoke strong feeling but I'm not exactly sure what it means. The vagueness is part of the appeal for me. The Moon Undoes It All and Whenever I Have Done a Thing in Flames are standouts. | | 3 |  | Jason Molina
Pyramid Electric Co.
The first of his solo records. It was made around the same time as Magnolia Electric Co's self titled, and I think they are meant to be sister albums. The sound of the guitar on this is amazing, so alien and unrecognizable. It's definitely in a weird tuning with a capo up high or something. It almost sounds like piano strings being plucked by hand. I think the first song is the standout for me. It might be his best song, or one of them. | | 2 |  | Magnolia Electric Co
Josephine
Watching the making of Josephine documentary on youtube is what got me into Jason Molina's music. It's a great document of the recording at Electrical Audio, and Steve Albini is in a lot of it, rest in peace. It made me appreciate the album a whole lot more, and I think it's the peak of Magnolia's career. It's the best of the band, distilled. Great, natural recording, performances, songs. Shiloh, Heartbreak at 10 Paces, Whip-poor-will, Shenandoah are all amazing songs. This album has the bluesy side of the band, but it's less straight up blues rock and incorporates more soul, country, folk, and more textures. There are some songs that were recorded that didn't make it on the album too, including one called The House I think? You can hear them playing it at the beginning of the documentary and it's a really cool song. | | 1 |  | Songs: Ohia
Didn't It Rain
Recorded in Philadelphia, this was the last Songs: Ohia album before they became Magnolia. The recording is immaculate and it's kind of the perfect blend of the dark/mythical/spectral with what would become Magnolia. There are some amazing harmonies on the title track. Blue Factory Flame and Blue Chicago Moon are some of his best songs ever. A very rewarding catalog of songs from an amazing songwriter who died way too young. | |
BMDrummer
01.08.25 | can definitely tell what type of fan you are, i love all his stuff and it really just depends on my mood. perfectly respectable ranking, nice to see some love for Protection Spells, actually the first thing of his i heard | Drifter
01.08.25 | will parse this more later, but needs Trials and Errors SOMEWHERE (please)
but Didn't It Rain is his greatest. agreed | Archelirion
01.08.25 | 1 is my 1 too, though I haven't completed the set yet. Jason was filled with incredible songs.
I need to check out Molina and Johnson, sounds fantastic. | Archelirion
01.08.25 | PARALYYYYYSED BY THE EMPTINESS | Sunnyvale
01.08.25 | 18, 13, and 2 are my top three in no particular order - great artist. | KevinGoldfinger
01.08.25 | protection spells is amazing, yes! And i forgot about trials and errors, it would probably land close to fading trails for me | DoofDoof
01.08.25 | I returned to 5 and it's real good | Drifter
01.08.25 | that josephine making of documentary used to fuck me up so hard. for some reason that scene of them getting the pizza used to make me break down thinking of how he was no longer with us. i had such a strong bond with him and his music for a time and i wasn’t even aware of his music when he passed but it hit me so hard retrospectively | theBoneyKing
01.08.25 | Love 3 so much, glad to see it so high! | KevinGoldfinger
01.08.25 | It was a great loss when he passed away for sure. I only got into his music within the past few years. Did you read riding with the ghost? | Veldin
01.09.25 | Read as Jason Mamoa… Considering my love of indie rock/folk, emo, and slowcore, it’s really criminal I’ve only every jammed the s/t Songs Ohia | Jash
01.09.25 | Commenting to come back to this later, one of the greatest to ever do it | Emim
01.09.25 | Loved his work in Aquaman | Veldin
01.09.25 | Damn just relistened to debut and was absolutely mesmerized. Created a playlist of his entire body of work. Will be deep diving. Thanks! | KevinGoldfinger
01.09.25 | I just laughed at jason mamoa |
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