Weekly Release Spotlight: Sun Kil Moon
Posted on 5/04/2008
Sun Kil Moon
April
[ Caldo Verde]
Slow down. Calm yourself. Be patient. Mark Kozelek and co. need you to follow these three simple steps before dropping the needle on their new record, April. Okay, so these directives might not be so easy to follow in this day and age of noisy art rock and hyper indie-pop garnering all the attention. We live in a hustle and bustle, satisfy-me-now world after all. So wait for a quiet gray day where schedules and agendas don't exist if you must, but don't let anxiety and stress rule all of your music choices. Allow Sun Kil Moon's understated folksy slowcore to embed itself into your headphones and just...relax.
The former leader of Red House Painters has often been held responsible for spearheading this style of music that flows into the ears in slow motion, rests gently upon arrival, and delicately emanates copious amounts of fervent sadness. However, he has always played with this sound. 2005's curious Modest Mouse covers album Tiny Cities infused and angst that came with the territory. Their 2003 debut Ghosts of the Great Highway focused on poppy punchlines and dusty rock musicianship. Both efforts still assembled focused guitar picking and Kozelek's trademark intimate mumble, but April is their first release that grants the resigned music time to germinate, develop, and bloom.
Only four of the album's eleven tracks clock in at under five minutes and all tracks save for one rocker (the epic "Tonight the Sky," which is also the longest offering) softly encourage closed eyes and horizontal listening with their lingering pace. This could be taken as an insult to Kozelek's ability to engage the listener, but it is surely not meant to. Tracks like the resplendent "Lost Verses" or the morose "Heron Blue" mesmerize with remarkable ease and modesty. The variety continues on the album's trump card "Tonight in Bilbao," which delivers a much-needed taste of the sparkling and uplifting as April's penultimate track. Kozelek and crew were no fools when constructing these tunes: maybe the remedy for a fast-paced world is a little peace and quiet.
Stream: Sun Kil Moon - Moorestown
Radio K Presents Sun Kil Moon at the Varsity Theater on Friday, June 6th with Retribution Gospel Choir. Doors 8pm. 18+.
Written by Chris Polley, Radio K volunteer and host of Now Like Photographs.