In March 2003, while on tour, Jason Molina announced that he would rename his band (Songs: Ohia) Magnolia Electric Co. This new incarnation would retain many of the original players and the stylistic direction of the album of the same name. Jason Molina would also continue to release solo work, but this time under his own name. The first such release came in January of 2004, as the full length vinyl release Pyramid Electric Co. ...show more

In March 2003, while on tour, Jason Molina announced that he would rename his band (Songs: Ohia) Magnolia Electric Co. This new incarnation would retain many of the original players and the stylistic direction of the album of the same name. Jason Molina would also continue to release solo work, but this time under his own name. The first such release came in January of 2004, as the full length vinyl release Pyramid Electric Co.

While Magnolia Electric Co. and Pyramid Electric Co. were originally intended as a double album, the latter seems to be the stylistic polar opposite of the former. Engineered by Mike Mogis, who also engineered Ghost Tropic, Pyramid finds Jason Molina alone at the microphone with only his voice, a piano or a guitar.

Magnolia Electric Co.'s first official release was a live album called Trials and Errors, followed by a studio album titled What Comes After The Blues and an EP, Hard To Love a Man, all three released in 2005. It is not entirely clear when Songs: Ohia became Magnolia Electric Co. In interviews, Jason Molina has claimed that he considered the tenure of Songs: Ohia over after Didn't It Rain, which would make Magnolia Electric Co. the eponymous debut album of the new band. ...show less