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When the Red House Painters dissolved and lead singer Mark Kozelek released a handful of solo recordings under the name Sun Kil Moon in 2002. With the help of Jetset Records, the album “Ghosts of The Great Highway” was released in November 2003. The album, which had several songs about deceased boxers, did well with the critics reaching an overall rating of 84 out of 100 on metacritic.com. In 2005 Kozelek founded his own label, Caldo Verde Records, and under the new label, Sun Kil Moon released “Tiny Cities” in November of the same year. The eleven-track album contains reinterpreted versions of songs originally by Modest Mouse.
In 2008 Sun Kil Moon released their third studio album entitled “April” and it featured guest vocals from both Wil Oldham and Ben Gibbard. The album also included a second CD that had alternate recordings of their songs. Just like their previous albums, “April” was met with critical acclaim, gaining four-star reviews from various media outlets such as Billboard, The Boston Globe and Mojo. The follow up album, “Admiral Fell Promises” was entirely recorded by Kozelek by himself. It features his instrumentals on the nylon stringed guitar and vocals, and in 2013 Kozelek released three solo albums under his name and not Sun Kil Moon.
Stark, spare, and haunting, Sun Kil Moon—the latest group headed by former Red House Painters leader Mark Kozelek—can be a tense and beautiful live experience. The band, which consists of Kozelek on acoustic guitar, a keyboardist, and some very gentle, occasionally powerful drumming presents itself as one of the quietest live shows you're likely to see.That works in Sun Kil Moon's favor, though.
Kozelek's songs feel like impassioned, dusty prairie campfire songs. His rich, mellow baritone voice commands an intensity that often belies the gentle nature of the austere accompaniment. In fact, the quiet nature of a Sun Kil Moon show means that absolutely no one else in the audience wants to hear someone arguing with their girlfriend on a cell phone or talking hockey playoffs during the set (and everyone will hear you if you're that guy.) From the front of the stage,
Kozelek will banter with the audience, but if he's fighting over conversations or the shimmering glow of manic texters in the crowd, he'll call those offenders out from the stage. (“You keep talking; I'm only pouring my guts out here,” he called out during one particular show) That can feel a bit unsettling when it happens (and it does, often), but at this point its likely as much a part of the show as the lovely songs the band performs. It ups the tension and enhances the subdued and often sad songs in the Sun Kil Moon catalog.
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