Josephine marks the 16th album that Jason Molina has made under his many guises (Songs: Ohia and his given name being the others) but it has never taken him this long to craft a follow-up. Why did it take three years for the highly prolific singer-songwriter to finally follow-up 2006's Fading Trails? It could be the fact that Molina released the strictly limited 2007 treasure trove box set Sojourner, which was four discs worth of outtakes, demos and unreleased material. It could also do with the fact that for the last year Molina has been working on an album with Will Johnson of Centro-Matic and South San Gabriel. But the big reason probably has to do with the tragic death of his bassist Evan Farrell. Farrell sadly passed away due to massive smoke inhalation in his home due to a faulty furnace. The tragedy hit Molina particularly hard and for the first time ever in Molina's career, it took him years to put out a record. Josephine is the somber tribute to his fallen friend and the melancholy feel of the record comes through loud (well… quiet) and clear. The melancholy tone does nothing to hinder this record however because in all honesty this is the second strongest album that Molina has crafted this decade.

Since the title character pops up in the beginning, middle and end of the album, it's hard to not imagine that Josephine is just a parallel for Farrell. The longing and sorrow that is sung towards the character makes you yearn right along with Molina. Lead track "O! Grace" with its passionate sax solo and "Little Sad Eyes" with its hard driving B-3 organ are new territory for Molina and he handles them with style. "Rock of Ages" is so crystal clear in its delivery that you can't help but be emotionally affected and "Map of the Falling Sky's" dark and powerful delivery really drives the album home. Josephine may be a solemn and sad record but that doesn't' mean it isn't incredible at almost every turn. In a long and tenured career full of albums, Josephine is near the top of Molina's great works and a fitting tribute to a band member that will be sorely missed.