3 out of 5

Produced by: Eric Stoess (recorded by)

Label: Secretly Canadian

The nervy, nigh-punky exuberance of Jason Molina’s Songs: Ohia debut gives way to a much deeper, but scattered experience.  Impala is as rough and raw as the preceding disc, but kicking off with seven minute hymnal An Ace Unable To Change, in which Molina curses himself again and again, would seem to indicate a different mindset guiding things here, perhaps one more enmeshed in emotional mire.  But really, this is just a sample of the Molina-to-come on later albums.

Impala kicks into gear with a series of short, head-bobbing strum and drummers – catchy but fleeting, not quite landing on any striking themes or images as potent as the opening.  The sequencing also hits something of a snag as it passes the midpoint, Molina offering up some very minimal, slow compositions that feel more like sketches of feelings than complete thoughts.  The disc closes with several tracks somewhere in between these two modes, including the excellent closer Program and Disjunction, which seems to allow in the barest bit of daylight to things.

Impala has a very live-to-tape feel, which works well with Molina’s moments-between-the-moments observations, but it’s also rather scattered, stylistically.  This does encourage relistens, finding your own way through the album, but it still doesn’t result in something as scrappily grabbing as the prior release or as affecting as later albums.