I'm Checkin' 'Em Out - Songs: Ohia

Welcome to a new column at the Musicarium, “I’m Checkin’ ‘Em Out”. My friends are all big music fans, and I’m constantly being told to check this band out, listen to this album, you should buy this, etc. This column will take a look at one song by a band I’ve heard good things about and will help determine if they warrant further inspection. At the end, I’ll label the song as a “Yea” (good!), a “Nay” (bad!), or a “Meh” (don’t really give a shit to ever hear them again). You may say it’s not fair to boil an artist’s catalogue down to one random song I found on YouTube, but I say I don’t care.

Songs: Ohia
“Farewell Transmission”
Magnolia Electric Co.
2003 Secretly Canadian

To be upfront, I’ve experienced some previous songs of Songs: Ohia through Pandora. I don’t remember what any of the song titles were and I had never heard “Farewell Transmission” before, so I still think this fits within the guidelines. I do remember that I liked what I had heard. I remember those songs being minimalistic, sparse, and quite eerie, like Sun Kil Moon with the volume turned down even lower. Yearning for something, anything, to listen to that also sounds like Sun Kil Moon, I thought back to Songs: Ohia, and found “Farewell Transmission” on YouTube.

This is a complete departure from what I had heard before. The guitar riffs are grimy and dirty and endlessly repetitive, but in that kickass Neil Young sort of way. The guitar is instantly memorable, containing enough power to carry the song all the way through seven and a half minutes with only limited variation.

Much like some of those elongated, stretched out Neil Young songs that are carried by a central, repeating guitar part, the changes in “Farewell Transmission” are treated as monumental occurrences. Tangibly, the choruses are louder and are accompanied by harmonizing backing vocals. But they’re meant more as a release from those repeating portions, more as a blow off. Songs: Ohia (and principal songwriter/guitarist Jason Molina) gets this just right. The choruses boom, providing a sense that the verses are truly building to something. When the song bridges back to the verse riff, after those changes, it’s rejuvenating to hear it again. In a way, “Farewell Transmission” feeds itself.

This song and others like it prove that lyrics can stand out without Bob Dylan-level wordsmithing. The strength and simplicity of the tune work with what sound like pieced together lyrics. I’ve found myself singing the words without knowing what they mean. A passage towards the beginning shows Molina half singing and half stating the lines as a matter of fact, not unlike Stephen Malkmus of Pavement: “Someone must have set ‘em up / Now they’ll be working in the cold gray rock / Now they’ll be working in the hot mill steam / Now they’ll be working in the concrete”. With this style of singing and the terrific music behind it, the lyrics gain a level of natural authority. When Molina sings, “I will be gone, but not forever”, I believe him, though I don’t know what I’m supposed to be believing.

I can safely put this in the category of “Yea”. I’ll be purchasing this album and others just like it very soon.

John Lacey