- Record Label: Secretly Canadian
- Release Date: Apr 5, 2005
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Once upon an Axcess and Ace, this was a musician who would let his timid voice and simple themes sink in until they were a full part of the consciousness. Now, and more so than on the MEC premiere, strings, slide guitar, peddle steel, banjo, violin, trumpet, and piano are filling in every cranny to create less of a full-on effect, but an equally satisfying rash of strong songs.
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In the past, Molina has preferred to let his songs sprawl out, but here, he keeps them fairly tight, responding to the urgency of a more rock-oriented sound.
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Alternative PressThe first five tracks just feel like the opening act for the stripped-down, twangy acoustic trilogy that closes out the album. [May 2005, p.172]
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If Blues isn't as immediately classic-sounding as Molina's 2003 pseudo-debut, it still harbors enough affecting songs to make you pause and admire the man's craft.
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UncutMolina's songs achieve the kind of epic, majestic sweep his ambition and talent have long suggested. [Jun 2005, p.104]
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New Musical Express (NME)Molina's retro-countrified songs of American redemption are not academic and studied, but human. [28 May 2005, p.64]
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Whether it marks the beginning of a significant shift for the group or not, Molina's growing confidence as a vocalist and songwriter remains levels above his peers -- and, like Songs: Ohia's final days, proves more than capable of forgiving its own shortcomings.
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Under The RadarHas the immediacy of a live show performed by a seasoned band. [#9]
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A record of quiet fire, fueled by an electric/acoustic guitar dynamic and the determined waver in Molina's vocals, which have strengthened considerably since Songs: Ohia.
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If his old songs sounded like Neil Young’s shattering on the floor, his new material finds him carefully, almost apologetically, reconstructing the pieces.
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A plaintive, low-key affair that sounds like a full retreat from the grand, thumping Magnolia Electric Co. and live Trials & Errors.
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The lyrics here lack the self-indicting punch that made MEC so unflinchingly great.
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Maddeningly inconsistent.
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Whereas Magnolia was instantly gratifying – a sea change for Molina both sonically and emotionally - What Comes After the Blues is scattered and tangled.
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MojoImagine a 'luded-out Eagles fronted by a dying hillbilly and you'll only be mildly disappointed. [Jun 2005, p.105]
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Q MagazineHeralds a move from mine-shaft fug to West Coast freeway haze. [Jun 2005, p.120]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 6 out of 6
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Mixed: 0 out of 6
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Negative: 0 out of 6
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WayneBMay 18, 2005
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MorganKApr 21, 2005Not quite the epic masterpiece that was the self-titled album, and a little on the short side, but still stunning and beautiful.
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EricFApr 21, 2005Excellent slice of americana, similar to Anders Parker or Sun Kil Moon