Songs: Ohia - The Discography (1/2)

Jason Molina, main creative force behind Songs: Ohia

Songs: Ohia was a musical project consisting mainly of Jason Molina which was active from 1995 to 2003, when he renamed the band to Magnolia Electric Co. The bands sound has been described as slowcore, alt country, folk rock, indie rock, singer-songwriter americana and more. Over the course of their eight year existence, they released seven studio albums as well as two tour-exclusive albums, The Ghost and Protection Spells, all of which I will cover here. I will not be including any EPs, live albums or music released under the name Magnolia Electric Co. or any solo recordings released under Molina's own name, although I may talk about them in another article in the future. For the sake of readability, I will split this into two parts, with this first part of the article covering the first five records from Songs: Ohia to The Lioness.

 Songs: Ohia (1997)

This is where it all started after the release of some singles throughout 1995/1996 Songs: Ohia released their self-titled debut album, also known as  The Black Album, in 1997. While it's clear that Molina is still developing the band's sound here this makes for a pretty good start, even if some of the songs do get a bit samey. From the first song Cabwaylingo, later renamed Vanquisher, we are introduced to the band's trademark sound with Molina's acoustic guitar strumming along in the foreground and sparse use of the backing instruments. Something we are also introduced to are Molina's lyrics about love, death, religion and everything in between with much of the album being about one of his early lovers Anne Grady. The lyrics on the song Blue Jay recall a phone call between the couple about Anne's problems finding a job: "It seems that the older inhabitors never got out of you / The phantom broods were wronged in body / And in a state, they will make their soon escape / By building a new inheritance / It’s likely more not to be / Than sin and death and vipers to fill our beds / And as for liberty, she will work or she will suffer / I am dense with the light of women / And I insist I’m not confused / I will not be going". On Gauley Bridge he questions her about the nature of their relationship, reflecting on how they once used to be, compared to the state they are in now: "If I have been too constant / Then you were this thing also / She shuts up the room / Same blue voice to sound it / How exactly Jonesy, do you declare we're bound? / Spend the lives that rise between us / We were once so constant". 

This record is not where i would advise anyone to start their Songs: Ohia journey but it's definitely an impressive debut that showcases many of the things that Molina would go on to perfect later on in the band's career.

Impala (1998)

This might be the most difficult record ever released under the Songs: Ohia name,similar to Ghost Tropic that would come later down the road, Impala is a slow and spacious record that takes it's time to creep up on the listener and envelop them in its atmosphere. Compared to the debut this record makes heavy use of an organ along with Molina's acoustic guitar, which works quite well in establishing the record's mournful and pensive atmosphere. Something still present from the debut that is the use of war and military terms as metaphors, such as on Easts Heart Divided where he sings: "Sleeping wartime, 45 degrees / can I play with your mane / Sleeping wartime, 45 degrees". This song is also perhaps an early instance of Molina describing a woman as a lioness, an idea that would later be used for a whole record, which in conjunction with the use of wartime emphasises the idea of love as something inherently dangerous. The opener An Ace Unable To Change is a slow, organ-driven song in which Molina sings: "Tonight i am gamblings with my sentiment / Tonight i am gambling with my repentance / Deny I am losing in a crowded room / To a gambler in a crown of thorns / Tonight I am down to my soul" sets the mood perfectly. Other notable songs include The Rules of Absence, a beautiful piano based ballad and Just What Can Last, a heart wrenching song in which Molina explores the temporary nature of human relationships: "All friends will leave you / Leavin' will bring ya down and / Leavin' will tear ya down and / Leavin' will wear you down and / Leavin' will bring you down".

Overall, Impala is a clear step forward, at least sonically, for Songs: Ohia with more variety compared to their debut. If you're looking for another slow, atmospheric release in the vain of Ghost Tropic, this record is for you. 

The Ghost (1999)

The Ghost is the first of two tour exclusive records released by Songs: Ohia, the second one being Protection Spells. This record is a complete solo project by Molina, which he recorded on a boombox at home. This shows in the recording quality, as this is easily Songs: Ohia's most lofi record ever. This leads to the songs being buried under a quiet distorted noise, that almost sounds like wind, making this definitely one of if not the groups least accessible record. Despite this, I think the record is interesting just for how intimate it feels and for getting a glimpse into an early version of an atmosphere he would go on to perfect on Ghost Tropic. Notably, this record also includes an early version of Just a Spark from The Lioness under the name One Harrowing Night, with the line "You mimic with your eye the moon" being cut from the final version. 

Often this record is seen as an unessential throwaway in the Songs: Ohia discography and while it is true that this record is less polished it still provides a unique atmosphere if that is what someone's looking for.

Axxess & Ace (1999)

Axxess & Ace  is the first of Songs: Ohias so called "passionate albums", this album and The Lioness, while most of the album, similar to his other works, contains lyrics about self doubt and the failures of human relationships, starting the first song Hot Black Silk of with the lyrics: "There will be trouble with me / There will be trouble more than these / And I warned you / Ten times of these things", the record goes in a more upbeat direction instrumentally, especially compared to any of the previous records, with the second song Love and Work having an almost sing along chorus. In the middle of the record on Captain Badass, Edith Frost adds some beautiful backing vocals to a song about two people destined to fall in love. But the clear highlight for me is the third song Love Leaves Its Abusers with a gut wrenching chorus and the typical Molina melancholy throughout with lyrics about him apologising for his behaviour towards his lover: "You must have heard / That voice loud and plain / Through all the thunder I surrounded you in / And I once had cause / And I once had strength / But I have been selfish / To say the least / I owned up to it ". On the last track of the Goodnight Lover we get a heartfelt ballad as the album closes with the words: "The it's lights out after this kiss [x2] / Then time can't torment us [x2] / This will have to serve [x3] / Goodnight lover [x4] / Wherever you are [x3]".

The pretty digestible presentation and upbeat moments make this record a good entry point that still hits many Songs: Ohia trademarks for someone looking to ease themselves into the bands sound, but it's still a great record for seasoned fans looking for something a little different. 

The Lioness (2000)

Often compared to it's uneven twin in Axxess & Aces, The Lioness may deal with similar themes as the previous record but something seems to have switched from that record. While that record, like most of Molina's work, was by no means light, there was something more upbeat, less dark about it. Now with this record all of that has changed, the atmosphere is dark, brooding and anxious, the women are no longer given funny nicknames like Captain Badass, instead they are now portrayed as predatory animals, a Lioness or perhaps a Tigress, looking for her prey. On this record, his love turns into something devouring, something he might be willing to die for, as the first track, The Black Crow, describes a potentially fatal journey through the desert and describes the pact he and his lover have made: "And the guise to black cats we made a cross when our shadows met / And the guise to black cats we made a pact when our shadows passed / Through sparrow black wind / A dead crow calls out to its wings / I'm getting weaker I'm getting thin / I hate how obvious I have been / I'm getting weaker". Similarly, on Lioness, he describes how his lust and the longing he has for this woman overpowers all his rational thought, repeating over and over what he would do to get to her and how he does not care what she does to him at all, as long as he can be with her: "You can't get here fast enough [x5] / I will swim to you [x4] / Whether you save me / Whether you savage me / Want my last look to be the moon in your eyes / Want my heart to break if it must break in your jaws / Want you to lick my blood off your paws". For most of the record this intensity does not diminish, the playfulness of Axxess & Aces is long forgotten, now all that is left is desire and Molina's dark vision of love as described on the phenomenal Being in Love: "Being in love means you are completely broken / Then put back together the one piece that was yours / Is beating in your lover's breast (...) What’s left after that’s all gone I hope to never learn / But if you stick with me you can help me / I’m sure we’ll find new things to burn / 'Cause we are proof that the heart is a risky fuel to burn / Yeah, we are proof that the heart is a risky fuel to burn". On the final song Just A Spark we get a moment of relief, Molina seeming almost relaxed accepting death as she pushes her, metaphorical, dagger into his heart: "Will that look be your only reply? / You lower your head in reply / Here it is white and full like a pale ghost across the sky / And here it is crescent-like a dagger from your heart into mine / Here it is just a spark to shine / Here it is just a spark to shine" 

The Lioness is one of the high points in the band's catalogue and one of my favourite Songs: Ohia records, although that could be said for three of the last four following records. I would warmly recommend this to any of you that felt intrigued by the few words I have written about it here, or that have enjoyed any of Jason Molina's other works.

𝑺𝑬𝑬 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑺𝑷𝑨𝑪𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑾𝑩𝑶𝒀...