Two new songs from "I Will Swim To You: A Tribute to Jason Molina" out today

Covers from Trace Mountains and Teen Suicide

Run For Cover Records recently announced I Will Swim to You: A Tribute to Jason Molina, and today they're sharing two more songs from it: "The Dark Don't Hide It" covered by Trace Mountains, and "Whip Poor Will" covered by Teen Suicide.

Due out September 5th, I Will Swim to You: A Tribute to Jason Molina 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. RFC have already shared MJ Lenderman's cover of "Just Be Simple" and Sun June's cover of "Leave The City" (garnering attention from the likes of Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Stereogum, BrooklynVegan, Paste Magazine, and many more), and Trace Mountains' "The Dark Don't Hide It" and Teen Suicide's "Whip Poor Will" offer two more phenomenal renditions of Molina's works.

Dave Benton of Trace Mountain discussed their cover, saying: "I first heard about Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. when I was trying to find a label to put out my 2020 record Lost in the Country. An A&R I was chatting with said my songs reminded them of Jason's and it prompted a dive into his catalog that turned into a minor obsession with certain songs. The label conversation eventually fizzled out, but I was still glad to have discovered all Jason Molina's wonderful music. 'The Dark Don't Hide It' was always my favorite song of his, so when I was asked to contribute to this compilation I thought a piano-forward arrangement of the song might be kind of nice. So that's what we did! Thanks for listening."

Sam Ray of Teen Suicide (who recently released a new two-song single) discussed their cover, saying: "Jason Molina's music, particularly his records as Songs: Ohia, have been a huge part of my life. His music has gotten me through some of the very dark times in my life, and his songwriting has been immensely influential to me as well. I think the same could be said for a lot of our bandmates over the years, particularly Sean Mercer, who played with Teen Suicide for about seven or eight years. Soon after he joined the band full-time we started doing a cover of 'Whip Poor Will' at our shows. We'd play a version similar to the b-side from Magnolia Electric Co—stripped down to two guitars and nothing else, Sean would sing Molina's lead, and I'd sing Jennie Benford’s.

When RFC asked if we'd like to be part of a compilation honoring Molina's music and legacy, I asked immediately if we could record a cover of it, hoping to capture the version we'd been playing for so many years. Thankfully we had a chance to reconvene and plan out our cover—doing it almost the same as before but now with the addition of Ahren Buchheisster playing the pedal steel as well. All these years later it's still one of my favorite songs ever; I couldn't be happier to have it be part of this wonderful compilation."

Jason Molina's expansive catalog—from Songs: Ohia, to 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, and is being released in collaboration with Static & Distance, the Secretly Canadian run Jason Molina fan community, who have an exclusive vinyl variant for subscribers. 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.