Oct 08, 2009

Molina and Johnson is the new collaboration between Jason Molina and Will Johnson, the American folk mavens behind Magnolia Electric Co. and Centro-matic respectively. (What an original name!) The roots-rock fan’s wet dream collaboration have a self-titled debut album coming out November 3rd, via Secretly Canadian. They’re offering up the opening cut this week, entitled “Twenty Cycles to the Ground.” The song sees the two songwriters singing in unison over a lazy day organ and bluesy guitar line. Johnson apparently met Molina at the merch table following a MEC show in Austin, TX last September, where they chewed the fat over hats and pumpkins. Five months later they recorded at Argyle, Texas’ Echolab studio.

“We were basically ready,” says Johnson in a press release. “For ten days we wrote, co-wrote, workshopped, complimented, scrutinized, drank, invited friends to come play music, smoked, made lots of notes and drawings, drank a little more and shot the BB gun off the back porch when we just needed some time and space. In the throes of all this, our record was made in the late February sun.” You can expect plenty of dust bowl-like balladry from these two.