New Sun Kil Moon album - Universal Themes. June 2015

Yep - order it from the label and you get a bonus live CD.

 

Its official: Mark Kozelek doesn't actually hate Nels Cline. Lol.

Loving the album. Grows on each additional listen. Great stuff.

 

Yeah I took a quick listen to the first 3 songs last night and thought it sounded great. Kind of a poor review on Pitchfork this morning. Hopefully the demand for the vinyl will plummet as a result and it won't take me 6 months to track down a copy at an inflated price!

 

Never mind that, this is the cover of the copy I just bought - where's that pole thing with the wires gone??

 

I agree. As I said before koZelek has a nice pension going selling all his SKM on eBay. Self made scarcity. I am sick of it and don't bother any more. Oh and of course his last three or four releases are cack too.

 

JPC has a preorder for a UK Rough Trade pressing of this album. Anybody know anything about it?

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/poprock/detail/-/art/sun-kil-moon-universal-themes/hnum/7529709

Of course I ordered it

 

Amazon.co.uk has the vinyl up for pre-order. August 21st date. Fingers crossed, though this one doesn't seem to be as limited as Benji.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Universal-T...8&qid=1438264950&sr=1-1&keywords=sun+kil+moon

 

Pre-ordering Koz vinyl on amazon is fruitless. You have a better chance at guessing this weekend's lottery numbers.

 

Benji is a masterpiece but it is one of those records I have to be careful to listen to. It's quite rare for me to listen to the second track. Along with Joy Division records, I play it only when I'm ready to visit some quite dark places.

 

I ordered Rock n' Roll Singer from amazon.ca and it's actually getting delivered today. Also had success with his last live one that was pressed on vinyl. And I'd be surprised if people didn't receive the Red House Painters amazon orders as those aren't limited.

Will wait and see how limited Universal Themes will be.

 

You can still find Bilko quite easily and Amazon.ca just got Rock N Roll Singer not long ago (where as I have had it for about a month as I got it from Bull Moose). Also Rock N Roll Singer is not on Caldo Verde.

 

So isn't the vinyl version of "Universal Themes". It's Rough Trade. And I certainly won't wait for a US pressing on CV.

 

Various pre-orders have been up for well over a month but I wouldn't be too disheartened, I think the general feeling seems to be this wont be limited like previous albums. Maybe the message finally got through to Koz.

 

I wonder if he actually is aware of the fact that EU Rough Trade apparently goes it alone. And if he MIGHT try to stop them. After years and years of limited CV pressings this is actually quite a sensible decision.

 

It makes you wonder who was behind the limited pressings - CV or Koz. I just can't get my head round an artist deliberately wanting to limit their work on any format.

 

Well... anything to annoy the hardcore fan

 

Aren't they one and the same? I mentioned before it is a pension fund, not a customer service...

 

Ordered universal on vinyl. I do not think it is a limited release

 

That's Koz though, he has a love/hate relationship with his "middle aged guys in white tennis shoes" audience and still wishes he was 25 on 4AD playing to attractive young undergraduate girls into the latest cool intense poetic sensitive songwriter as he was portrayed as when first released records. He riffs on that between songs live a lot and occasionally on his recent records. You can hear it right after the 1st song on the Live At Biko' album. where he goes on about you guys asking when the album is coming out on vinyl and wanting to "kick your ass" but it is cool for a girl to ask the same question. It's his odd black humour which has got him into a bit of bother the last year or so now he is playing to more than 200 guys in white tennis shoes in a small club every night in Sweden or wherever.

 

Very true gohill. Ironically it will be the middle aged guys in tennis shoes who will still be going to his concerts in a few years time when the Benji effect wears off. The same 200 in every venue who have been going since the mid-90s. The same guys who buy the steady stream of releases he throws out on Caldo Verde.

Incidentally I am going to see him next week, for the 11th time. But I don't wear tennis shoes.

 

I just got his first solo ep, Rock 'N' Roll Singer (released 15 years ago!) in the mail yesterday and listened to it this morning. Great stuff and it really hit home what a consistent and incredible career this guy has had. I mean his first demos were recorded in 1989. 26 years later and he is still a) consistently releasing incredible music, b) consistently critically acclaimed, and c) is able to make headlines because of a scandal.

I think I could count on one hand the number of artists that have gone this long with quality releases. Can't wait to see him play in September her in Ottawa.

 

Well, get a pair then

 

Saw Sun Kil Moon in Edinburgh on Monday night, I thought they were fantastic. Mark seemed to thoroughly enjoy the show, he was really funny, chatting with the audience throughout, especially to a guy who had broken his arm while rescuing his cat from a cupboard. They played for around two and a half hours and the band were terrific.

I also bumped into him before the gig and asked him to sign my copy of Universal Themes - he was completely friendly and more than happy to oblige.

 

Saw him in Dublin and he was highly entertaining and very funny. Not really what I expected Music was great too although, his voice can get a little monotonous after two hours!

 

Had to return my first vinyl copy of "Universal Themes" because after I opened it at home I noticed a nasty seamsplit that was not visible under the shrinkwrap. Two heavy records in a single sleeve - whoever orders this set from Europe probably should ask the seller to remove the platters from the cover.

The replacement I got looks fine on the outside but has seamsplit on the printed inner.

Apart from that I haven't heard a single note