Nine tunes recorded in four separate studios (including Sun Studios in Mempis and Cracker’s David Lowery’s Sound of Music studio in Virginia) with three different line-ups, Fading Trails is still a cohesive collection of emotional heavy-weights. Singer-songwriter Jason Molina isn’t one for frivolity and his dark mood isn’t for everyone. Even at his most celebratory, Molina conveys a bleak underside with mournful vocals and lyrics that mine a restless angst. But where many of his previous albums billed as Songs: Ohia — Didn’t It Rain and Ghost Tropic, in particular — centered on a few mesmerizing chords to weave a hypnotic state, with Fading Trails Molina expands to more conventional ground. He’s been likened to Neil Young for his shaky, threadbare vocals and his ragged-but-right approach to recording and tunes such as “Don’t Fade On Me,” “Lonesome Valley” and “Memphis Moon” reinforce the connection. Molina’s performing modern-day classic rock: direct and unpretentious with a muscular rhythm section that can bring it from a whisper to a scream within seconds. Yet he isn’t afraid to settle on a few lone piano notes. Whatever it takes to relate the emotion and bring forth the song.