Molina and Johnson

It’s only in retrospect that we know this was among the last recordings that Jason Molina (of Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co.) would release in his lifetime. Molina abruptly cancelled a tour with Will Johnson (of Centro-Matic, South San Gabriel, Monsters of Folk, and New Multitudes) and began a multi-year slide into hospitals and rehab, eventually losing his battle in March 2013. Before that, there\'d been talk of the duo working together again. Upon this album’s release in 2009, it was greeted with generally positive reviews, with critics likely encouraged by how the two songwriters balanced one another out. Molina had a tendency to obsess on the same few chords, while Johnson was always more eclectic. Together, they created a relatively quick-moving album with arrangements that veer from the cryptic to the sublime. They try to discipline a theremin on “All Gone, All Gone,” while the harmonies of “Almost Let You In” contribute a sense of order to their deliberately loose and free performances.