Jason Molina was the man, the inspiration, the words and, most of all, the voice behind Songs: Ohia, and Magnolia Electric Company. A major force, he died too young, aged 39, a victim of his battle with alcohol, and it is perhaps only now the importance of his legacy is making itself extant. Had he got sober, and maybe a bit happier, he would undoubtedly be where Jason Isbell is now today, Kindred spirits both, each had a canny way around a maudlin melody, built over with keenly observed lyrics, often those born of experience. And boy, was he prolific, issuing a torrent of albums, often more than one a year, as well as leaving a cache of tapes behind for his record company, Secretly Canadian, to slowly sift through.

Those good folk at Run For Cover Records are responsible for this curated compilation, and, in recognition of the circumstances of his passing, 10% of the profits of each copy of I Will Swim to You: A Tribute to Jason Molina will be donated to MusiCares® Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Fund. (Is it me, or is there not an all-too-tragic run of similar recordings just recently?) The contributors tend towards fellow travelers in the dusty outlands of contemporary gothic country noir, the broodier end of Americana, if you must, with MJ Lenderman, Sun June and Hand Habits (Meg Duffy) perhaps the best known. The songs traverse the whole of Molina’s catalog, with one song emanating from his posthumous stash.
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