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So, Eight Gates. I haven't written about it for a publication because I've been consumed by other projects + the pending fall semester at USC. Which is ok! I'm thrilled for other writers to explore Molina's work and life, and share their interpretation. This is a very good thing.
That said, I'll share some thoughts here. I love this album for what it reveals about Molina's spirit and point of view in this period, its synthesis of his singular voice, minimalist posture and free association lyrical poems. The spontaneity is palpable and the beauty is true.
Molina was in a bad place after he moved to London. "London: Sink It," he signed one letter. We can hear this in songs like "Old Worry" "Be Told the Truth," "Thistle Blue" and "The Crossroad + The Emptiness" which read like a man suspended in sadness, isolation and memories.
Molina's between-song banter mirrors the deflection tactics he employed in his life, another in a series of attempts to mask the contents of his mind or, in this case, his songs. "The perfect take is just as long as the person singing in still alive," he says ahead of "She Says."
This statement, for me, is loaded with such unflinching meaning, even if he's laughing it off. He's living alongside so many demons—ghosts—of past and present, treading water to to dodge a void, lost in his mind, his addiction and a city of strangers.
But that joke in particular also speaks to another Molina trait: A deep desire to entertain, to retreat into goofiness, particularly when he felt uncomfortable.
My favorite songs on this record are "Whisper Away" and "The Mission's End." The former is reminiscent of Molina's work with Ali Roberts, which draws a full circle from his first time in London to his last time in London. The latter sounds like Molina around a campfire, which...
makes me think of his childhood on Lake Erie. I hear a lot of warmth and optimism in this song, too, a welcome texture. "We're all equal on this path," he sings. Sure it's part of his workingman's persona, but I also think he truly believed this. It's nice to hear him sing it.
One thing about the bird recordings that a lot of people are getting wrong: They are not Hendrix's green parrots. They were sourced from Numero's "Northern Wilderness" collection, and are meant to conjure the feeling of those parrots and Molina's penchant for mythologizing.
In a way, they are an outright extension of that mythologizing—a very smart, conceptual choice by the producer, which I applaud. I have no idea if Molina would have liked it.
On a personal note, I live in the daily flight path of a flock of wild green parrots. "Parrot patrol!" we say as they pass overhead. They're loud af, are heard from miles away & sound like a sinister cohort of flying goblins. Believe me, you would not want that sound on this LP.
To learn more about the album's beautiful cover art, please watch my friend William Schaff's video on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/williamschaff
One more thing: When I say "free association lyrical poems," what I mean is that I hear Molina spontaneously plucking from a box of imagery stored in his mind. He was constantly gathering these images from art, literature and experiences, filing them away and resurfacing them.
I don't have the sense that the lyrics for Eight Gates were written out to any heavily revised degree, which is why this album feels so spontaneous and alive.
That's all I have for now. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Jason Molina's Eight Gates.
