Hecla & Griper

Songs: Ohia trades in the slow gallop of their debut for a more rocking beat on this Hecla & Gripper. This 23-minute, eight-song EP released on the Secretly Canadian label features Jason Molina at his lyrical best, eschewing some of the obliquity of the first Songs: Ohia release. Percussionist Geof Cummings backs Molina on most of the album. The songs have a particular urgency and an unfinished quality to them, as if they are sketches for something to come; and performance and spontaneity were stress above giving them a polished sheen. The song "Tenskwatawa" from the first Songs: Ohia full-length is reworked here and renamed "Reply & Claim." There is also a Conway Twitty "cover" thrown in for kicks. ~ Jason Nickey