Run For Cover Records announce I Will Swim to You: A Tribute to Jason Molina out 5th SeptemberCovers by MJ Lenderman, Horse Jumper of Love, Hand Habits, Sadurn, Advance Base, Runnner, and More Share covers of “Just Be Simple” by MJ Lenderman Pre-orders available now along with limited split 7″ ft. unreleased Jason Molina demo  Album art by Will Schaff Run For Cover Records have announced I Will Swim to You: A Tribute to Jason Molina, due out September 5th. The release celebrates one of the most enduring and impactful songwriters of the past thirty years, with twelve loving covers performed by some of the brightest stars in modern indie. To mark the announcement Run For Cover have shared two songs from the upcoming release, MJ Lenderman‘s take on “Just Be Simple” from Songs Ohia’s iconic Magnolia Electric Co. (2003) album, and Sun June‘s version of “Leave The City” from Magnolia Electric Co.’s What Comes After The Blues (2005). Listen to “Just Be Simple” by MJ Lenderman via YouTube: Listen to “Leave the City” by Sun June via YouTube: Stream “Just Be Simple” and “Leave the City” everywhere: Preorder I Will Swim to You: A Tribute to Jason Molina: Jason Molina‘s expansive catalog—from Songs: Ohia, to The Magnolia Electric Co., to the work under his own name—has become one of the most important forces in the musical ecosystem of 2025. His distinct voice, stunning lyricism, and knack for longing melodies can be clearly heard not only in the current resurgence of alt country and Americana, but also in the worlds of indie rock, lofi, slowcore, and beyond. I Will Swim to You: A Tribute to Jason Molina captures a snapshot of Molina‘s deep and continuing influence with artists like Lenderman, Sun June, Horse Jumper of Love, Sadurn, Hand Habits, Friendship, and many more providing passionate renditions of songs from across his discography. As part of the tribute, 10% of the profits from each record will be donated to MusiCares®, a nonprofit that helped Molina when he was struggling with addiction. I Will Swim to You arrives with a beautifully painted cover by artist William Schaff, who created the owl cover art of Molina’s Magnolia Electric Co. album. In addition to the physical and digital release of I Will Swim to You , Run For Cover will also be releasing a physical-only split 7″, featuring a never before released demo recording of “The Last 3 Human Words” by Molina on the A-side and Lenderman’s cover of “Just Be Simple” on the B-side.  Jason Molina photo credit: Steve Gullick  Sun June photo credit: Alex Winker  MJ Lenderman photo credit: Shervin Lainez Biography: Jason Molina was an artist who didn’t like to look back. Throughout the singer-songwriter’s life and career, a restless and evolving creative pulse propelled him forward, training his focus on what was next. His unyielding creativity and work ethic bore sacred fruit. In his short life, Molina achieved what most musicians strive for: a sound that is instantly recognizable but rarely repeats itself. From the banks of Lake Erie in his hometown Lorain, Ohio, to international stages with his bands Songs: Ohia and The Magnolia Electric Co., Molina performed his vast catalog of mysterious, romantic, tempestuous, and monumental songs that were at once innovative and rooted in American tradition. He consistently tinkered with his sound, image, band, and homebase in order to sate his muse. Tenor guitar-toting misfit. Lovesick lo-fi indie rocker. Dirgey slowcore bard. 21st century roots-rock trailblazer. Canonical Midwestern songwriter. Jason Molina planted his creative flag in all of these territories — to stake his claim, convey how far he’d traveled, and leave behind a trail of precious talismans. With I Will Swim to You: A Tribute to Jason Molina — named after a line in Molina’s song “Lioness”— Run For Cover Records and a coterie of affiliated artists honor the songwriter’s enduring impact. The compilation of Molina covers is performed by some of today’s most visionary singer-songwriters, including MJ Lenderman, Hand Habits, Horse Jumper of Love, Sun June and more, and includes singular interpretations of Molina fan favourites and deep cuts from his solo albums and lesser-known EPs. As part of the tribute, 10% of the profits from each record will be donated to MusiCares®, a nonprofit that helped Molina when he was struggling with addiction. The leaders of MJ Lenderman, Hand Habits, Horse Jumper of Love, Sun June, Friendship, Another Michael, Trace Mountains, Runnner, Teen Suicide, Advance Base, Sadurn, and Lutalo chose a Molina song and then refracted his work through an individual creative prism. In the process, each artist lovingly guided Molina’s work into the present day — combining his perspective with 12 unique voices for a diverse sense of “now” that the man himself would’ve appreciated. I Will Swim to You and its artists don’t attempt to mimic or recreate Molina. Instead, they carry him forward through thoughtful, inventive, and singular renditions of his songs. The compilation echoes what younger generations acknowledge: Contemporary indie, alternative, and roots music would sound a lot different had Jason Molina never poured himself onto the page, conducted his friends in the studio, and sang his heart out on recordings. The project began when Run For Cover founder Jeff Casazza had lunch with two co-founders of Molina’s longtime record label Secretly Canadian, brothers Chris and Ben Swanson. After Casazza shared with them Molina’s influence on his own life and career, the trio enthusiastically envisioned an album in which artists from the RFC extended universe perform Molina’s songs. “We had the blessing of people who were very close to Jason,” Casazza explained, “and I knew we could do something really cool with an important body of work.” MJ Lenderman’s cover of “Just Be Simple” pairs the song’s twangy confessions with ticks of full-band explosion, his beloved North Carolina drawl quaking with poetic resolve. Meg Duffy of Hand Habits coats “Lioness” in silken vocals and synth twinkles, and Horse Jumper of Love places “Blue Factory Flame” in a crackling atmosphere of ghostly distortion. Sun June’s rendering of “Leave the City” transforms it into a dreamlike indie-pop ballad. For “The Dark Don’t Hide It,” Trace Mountains smooths out the original’s Crazy Horse-like flourishes into a glinty tableau laced with fiddle and major-key piano licks. Teen Suicide’s group harmony vocals channel the spiritual yearning of “Whip Poor Will” alongside acoustic strumming and steel guitar see-saws. Lutalo revamps “Shadow Answers the Wall,” from Molina’s posthumously released Eight Gates album, into a spectral pondering blanketed in reverb. Given the range and popularity of the artists on I Will Swim to You, it took years for the compilation to come together. The resulting collection, an unmistakable labor of love, is an often-stunning gestalt of generational talent paying homage to one of the most gifted but underrated American songwriters. The layers of miracle contained on these tracks is undeniable; not least of which is the participation of the celebrated Rhode Island-based artist William Schaff, who painted the owl cover art of Molina’s 2003 opus Magnolia Electric Co. During Molina’s 39-year lifetime, he and Schaff maintained a years-long friendship and correspondence. The cover art for I Will Swim to You — a similarly haunted and textural bird —is based on a postcard the artist sent to Molina when he was struggling. Schaff’s design for the album’s inner gatefold gathers moving song lyrics chosen by Molina’s bandmates in The Magnolia Electric Co., the group he formed after Songs: Ohia, including the plainly devastating question: “How long will I miss you?” Schaff has also included some of his own thoughts in the album’s liner notes, as have the artists who participated in the compilation. “Many try to walk the line between melancholic honesty and poetic affluence and fall short,” Duffy says, “but Jason Molina’s raw articulate devastation goes unparalleled.” With I Will Swim to You, a new musical generation carries Molina’s flame — passing it forward, and acknowledging its brilliance along the way. The album is a stirring reminder of Molina’s genius, and that his is a light that will never go out. I Will Swim to You: A Tribute to Jason Molina is due out September 5th via Run For Cover Records. I Will Swim to You: A Tribute to Jason Molina track list: |
