MOLINA AND JOHNSON> Molina And Johnson

MOLINA AND JOHNSON

Molina And Johnson

(SECRETLY CANADIAN)

[Rating: 2.5 stars]

For ten days, Will Johnson and Jason Molina lived solely in a world that revolved around music. They ate it, slept, wrote it, played it, jammed it, talked about it. Friends came and went; reality kept spinning. It was a collaboration written in the stars for fans of The Magnolia Electric Co. (Molina) and Centro-matic (Johnson).

The collaborative shut-in resulted in Molina and Johnson, a fourteen track album of hauntingly simplistic melodies. Each man takes a turn at the mic, both using an almost whispered falsetto that tugs at the heart, alters the mind and settles in the gut.

The melodies are nothing unexpected from the two storied poets, and those familiar with each man’s respective catalog will not be disappointed. However, Molina and Johnson does require some background; those without prior knowledge may be stuck somewhere between confusion and discontent. The music is beautiful but the album fails to ever pick up and instead ambles along.

Highlights of the album include the first track and single “Twenty Circles to the Ground” and “What You Reckon, What You Breathe.” Also featured on the album are cameos by Magnolia Electric Co.’s Michael Kapinus and Texas songwriter Sarah Jaffe, a newcomer whose contribution on “All Gone All Gone” added some ethereal mystery to an otherwise easily forgotten track.