Brigid Mae Power – “Didn’t It Rain” (Songs: Ohia Cover)Brigid Mae Power – “Didn’t It Rain” (Songs: Ohia Cover)

Last year, the Irish folk musician Brigid Mae Power got a whole lot of critical acclaim for her expansive album Head Above The Water. Today, she’s announced plans to follow that album with a new EP of covers called Burning Your Light. On Burning Your Light, Power takes on songs from some absolute titans: Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Townes Van Zandt, Patsy Cline. For the EP’s first single, Power has covered a devastating track from the late Jason Molina.

In 2002, Molina’s Songs: Ohia project released Didn’t It Rain, an album named after an old folk traditional. The eight-minute title track wasn’t Molina’s version of that traditional. Instead, it was a Molina original about the importance of protecting the fragile spark of your own soul and about helping other people to protect theirs. It’s one of those songs that’s only become more wrenching in the years since Molina’s death.

In her version, Power treats “Didn’t It Rain” as if it’s a folk traditional. She sings over lonely acoustic guitars and violins, and her voice has a mythic weight behind it. This is a song that you can get lost in. Below, listen to Power’s cover and the Songs: Ohia original, and check out the tracklist for the Burning Your Light EP.

TRACKLIST:
01 “I’ll Be Here In The Morning” (Townes Van Zandt cover)
02 “One More Cup Of Coffee” (Bob Dylan cover)
02 “It Ain’t Fair” (Aretha Franklin cover)
04 “Didn’t It Rain” (Songs: Ohia cover)
05 “May Morning Dew” (Traditional)
06 “Leavin’ On Your Mind” (Patsy Cline cover)

The Burning Your Light EP is out 9/24 on Fire Records, and you can pre-order it here.