Three things: 1.) I’m a day late, apologies, 2.) Albini Month continues, 3.) normally these albums have at least some relationship to Heck Reckoner’s music, and this just ain’t the case today. The Magnolia Electric Co. is a country album (or “alt-country” whatever that means) and it’s the perfect example of how a band (and good, crisp production) can bring out the best in a solid set of songs. For about a decade before its 2003 release, Jason Molina, the sole member of Songs: Ohia (imagine, if you will, a midwestern Elliott Smith), had been cranking out albums of sad, thoughtful songs recorded either solo or live in the studio. With this record, he finally landed upon a group of collaborators who could raise the quality of his material. He was so happy with its results that from 2003 until his alcohol-related death in 2013 at 39 (remember the Elliott Smith comparison?), Molina recorded and toured as The Magnolia Electric Co. The album is now considered a classic, frequently appearing on Best of 2000s lists, aided, in no small part by William Schaff’s artwork, which is gosh darn pretty to look at. If you listen to one track, make it “Farewell Transmission” which has added resonance now that some of the people who made it are no longer here. Remember though: they may be gone, but their music remains.