New Sun Kil Moon in February - Benji

Sun Kil Moon - Benji - Release Date: February 4, 2014 (Caldo Verde Records)

Recorded between March and August 2013, Mark Kozelek sings about his childhood years and his life today. Mark is joined by guest musicians Steve Shelley, Jen Wood, Will Oldham and Owen Ashworth. Song titles to be announced in December.

Not sure I dig the title - but I'm usually down for anything that Koz puts out.

 

looking forward to it. Desertshore is really good, probably make my 2013 top 10 list.

 

steve shelley from sonic youth? interesting.

 

My daughter shares the contemporary music she likes with me (and thankfully, she likes a LOT of the stuff from my era). I appreciate some of it, but it's fairly rare that any of it really knocks me out.

The one big exception has been Sun Kil Moon. Something about what Kozelek does really gets to me, and Sun Kil Moon's albums have "stuck" with me in a way the other stuff my daughter has shared with me hasn't.

She and I were lucky enough to see Mark and one accompanying musician in a small club in Pittsburgh a few years ago. Great show!

I'll look forward to the new album.

 

Benji gets a 9.2 on Pitchfork!

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/18860-sun-kil-moon-benji/

 

No news on a vinyl release. That's a shame.

 

This song is one of the most arresting pieces of new music I've heard in years.

 

wow!!! amazing new song (posted above).

I need to get this. I stopped buying Koz music after Sun Kil Moon's "April" ---- one of his best IMO, but he started releasing so many projects/live albums etc. that I couldn't keep up with what was worth buying. Any other recommendations for Kozelek albums between April and this new one?

 

Yeah I agree. I created a separate thread for this song hoping some more people might jump on it. Not much luck. Kozelek remains criminally underrated and overlooked on this forum. It's a shame really, he's one of the best singer songwriters alive IMO

 

Well, I jumped on it. And here we meet again!

 

The song Carissa is absolutely amazing. I can't stop listening to it. I think the album on a whole is great but still needs to grow for me. Some songs don't hit me as hard as others but all in all it's an excellent effort and I'm very happy for Koz. I feel almost proud that he, as an underdog, is finally getting recognition he deserves.

 

Completely agree. And this is coming from a classic rock fan who doesn't follow or know much about indie-rock at all. I love both the painters and Sun Kil Moon. Many forum members are missing out----he really does have a Zeppelin/Neil Young influence going on in some of his more electric tracks. But I think his strongest suit may be his beautiful, evocative lyrics, and melancholy melodies. A thing of beauty.
Some of favorite tracks by him:

River
Void
Moorestown
Lucky Man
Song for a blue Guitar
Summer Dress
San Geronimo
Trucker's Atlas ( a modest mouse tune---but he really makes it his own)
Duk Koo Kim

man...I could go on & on

 

So is Kozelek playing with a band for most of this album, or is it mostly solo acoustic?

 

That's a great list. Thing with him is that each album he's released is very different from the previous, even in the Painters' days. Here are some of my favs:

Lost verses
Void
Medicine bottle
Japanese to English
Duk Koo Kim
Gustavo
Young love
Moments
Moorestown
Trailways
Like the river
Blue orchids....

Oh man the list goes on and on. Even his "throwaway" tracks are gems. I even loved Among The Leaves and his collab releases last year.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - being a Koz fan is very rewarding, especially now in his "golden period". Everyone else is missing out!

 

It's a mix of both but almost all tracks have other instrumentation or guests playing/singing. It's a nice mix of both aspects - the solo and band stuff. Musically it's probably his most diverse album.

 

another one from the new album. Pretty awesome

 

Listened to this on the way to/from work. Absolutely incredible album. Making me go back to some of his RHP albums I haven't listens to in years.

 

Sounds good. I haven't checked out much of his work since April, since he seemed to dive totally into the solo acoustic material - and while I like most of that work there's a lot of other music I like more competing for my discretionary dollars. Will have to pick this one up and get reacquainted.

 

This is on the list for tonight.

 

What, no songs named after boxers on the new album???

 

Not on Spotify. The artist's loss.

 

Listening to this instead and really enjoying it:

 

Last years album with Desertshore made my top 10 for 2013, Benji sounds even better. an "On The Beach" for the 45 to 55 age group.

 

This was on my list too. Is there a stream on YouTube or anything?

 

David Bazan from Pedro the Lion talks about his thoughts on Benji. Nice read

http://thetalkhouse.com/reviews/view/david-bazan-mark-kozelek