Magnolia Electric Co.
Trials & Errors
Jason Molina’s low-key indie folk earned him a fan base, but it wasn’t until he changed his band’s name from Songs: Ohia to Magnolia Electric Co. that his talents really began to shine. In Molina’s case that means unleashing his inner Neil Young and Crazy Horse, playing raggedy guitar rave-ups reminiscent of Young’s best ’70s work. But they are sometimes too reminiscent, as this career-spanning (including new songs and a preview of an upcoming studio album) live disc demonstrates. Molina has become so adept at aping Young that you might as well listen to the real thing, though the fact that he’s steadily proving himself a strong songwriter in his own right indicates he might just be on the cusp of a creative breakthrough.
Best track: “The Big Beast,” the disc’s closer, which actually quotes a bit of Neil Young’s “Tonight’s the Night.”
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale ([email protected]) and Victoria Rodriguez ([email protected])