Sun Kil Moon -- Admiral Fell Promises

Now this may be a forthcoming disc worth getting excited about. Admiral Fell Promises is released on July 13.

Ghosts of the Great Highway and April were so good. Very excited about the new disc.

It's 10 tracks and 60 minutes. Track List:

• Alesund
• Half Moon Bay
• Sam Wong Hotel
• Third and Seneca
• You Are My Sun
• Admiral Fell Promises
• The Leaning Tree
• Australian Winter
• Church of the Pines
• Bay of Skulls

i feel kinda bad that i didn't listen to the last album as much as i thought i was gonna. i wanted to! i've never complained about the dude going to long for me, but i felt it with april. it seemed too long. maybe i wasn't in the right place at the time.

i felt that way too! but in small doses -- one or two songs at a time -- you can appreciate how beautiful a disc it is.

Loved April so much, can't wait for this!

exciting. april wasn't so bad but a little too monochromatic for me after ghosts. that album is still astonishing

carry me ohio is one of my favorite songs of the last decade. hypnotic /intense.

So excited for this. I loved April! It didn't have any instant stunners like Ghosts, but it was just what I wanted from him at the time. Seriously anticipating.

seems so quick after April, which is good. I'm sure it will be great.

Yeah!

Yeah, I'm genuinely excited about this, which is unusual for me at my advanced age. I'm excited about this similarly to how I'm excited to see Ariel Pink and Pearl Harbor play when they come to town.

I thought Ghosts was amazing and pretty much blew away the bulk of the RHP catalog. It was so cool and impressive to see someone make such a stunning record at that point in their career. April took a little time for me to really get into, but a couple of years later I still listen to it quite often.

I don't know if people talk about his lyrics much, but his lyrics really killed me on April. It's like he's dropped all of the adolescent-ish whining that I think marred some of the (at least earlier) RHP efforts, and he now produces this seemingly effortless poetry. Some of the lyrics, like for example Lost Verses', strike me as being simultaneously gorgeous, poignant, and even profound. Also I recall reading somewhere that he wrote most of the lyrics to Ghosts in the studio, which kind of blows my mind.

a lot of the lyrics on April was written after his ex girlfriend (katy, of katy song) died of cancer.

"Moorestown" on April is absolutely devastating. How he captures that particular feel of longing, of separation, of almost being able to touch a memory - *shakes head*.

if nothing else, this thread will make me go back and listen to april again.

i love april but it's almost too heavy for me at times. songs like unlit hallway are just devastating.

"Moorestown" was pretty amazing. Agreed.

ditto.

That's it. Add me on lastfm, Daniel (http://www.last.fm/user/Cunga). We admire too much of the same stuff for this not to have already happened.

if nothing else, this thread will make me go back and listen to april again.

I echo many of the comments so far; loved Ghosts from first listen, but found April more difficult to cherish - Daniel otm that it's best taken in small doses and some individual tracks (esp. "Lost Verses" and "Moorestown") are incredible.

I'd be interested to know what people think of Tiny Cities, which is an album I probably listen to more than the self-penned ones. I knew almost nothing of Modest Mouse before buying it, and remain largely ignorant, but Kozelek works some powerful alchemy on those songs imo.

I love Tiny Cities, esp "Truckers Atlas" and "Four Fingered Fisherman." I have the Modest Mouse albums but you're not missing anything in appreciating Tiny Cities without hearing the originals.

I like April right through except for "Like the River" which kills the second half for me. The rest I could (and have) listen(ed) to over and over.

I heard ‘April’ first and loved it so I’ve never had any of the difficulties getting around its length etc as others seem to have had. I’m quite surprised at the lack of love for it here though, I was under the impression it had been critically lauded. Plus ‘April’ has ‘Tonight the Sky’ which is absolutely divine, especially the version that came on the bonus disc.

I found it difficult to get a hold of ‘Ghosts’ and by the time it had eventually arrived from overseas my enthusiasm for Sun Kil Moon had burned out from over playing ‘April’. It’s clear from the comments here that I should give it another spin soon.

‘Tiny Cities’ is more of a mixed bag for me. I loved a lot of early Modest Mouse and I think some of the versions on ‘Tiny Cities’ are outstanding, particularly ‘Dramamine’ and ‘Convenient Parking’. I found most of the others to be a little MOR.

New album is great news though. Not necessarily something I’ll rush out to the store on release for but something I’ll no doubt pick up and cherish in time.

I was unimpressed with "Tiny Cities" aside from "Neverending Math Equation" and "Space Travel Is Boring".

Cunga - not sure if you were speaking to me but I friended you (I'm Abandoned_Brain on last.fm). We have a 'Super' match!

That's it. Add me on lastfm, Daniel (http://www.last.fm/user/Cunga). We admire too much of the same stuff for this not to have already happened.

i've never been to lastfm. once i'm past two headache-inducing projects tomorrow, i'll check it out!

Apparently the new one is just Kozelek and a guitar, no band.

If that's right then it's a letdown imo, and it seems odd that he's using the SKM name rather than just releasing a solo album. A *big* part of the appeal of SKM (for me at least) comes from the instrumentation and band interplay.

Seconded - xpost.

I always preferred RHP too when they rocked out expansively

Solo nature of this is being confirmed on various sites:

completely acoustic, just Kozelek and a nylon string guitar

MP3 of "Australian Winter" on that link, pleasant enough but I already have plenty of Koz's acoustic meanderings to take me through the long dark nights.

My two-month old bellyaching feels a bit churlish when I actually listen to "You Are My Sun" off the new one (three tracks streaming at Caldo Verde). Completely gorgeous.

http://www.caldoverderecords.com/skmafp/

wow. sun kil moon is so f--in' good, perhaps better than rhp. i forgot about this, makes me very happy

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6a/Admiral_Fell_Promises.jpg

Admiral Fell Promises is the third album of original material, and fourth overall, from Sun Kil Moon. The album is set to be released on July 13, 2010 through Caldo Verde Records. Along with the standard CD release, the album will also be released on vinyl, which includes liner notes and two bonus tracks recorded live in Saint-Malo, France.

1. "Ålesund" 6:26
2. "Half Moon Bay" 6:53
3. "Sam Wong Hotel" 5:10
4. "Third and Seneca" 7:14
5. "You Are My Sun" 4:55
6. "Admiral Fell Promises" 3:51
7. "The Leaning Tree" 7:54
8. "Australian Winter" 4:40
9. "Church of the Pines" 6:05
10. "Bay of Skulls" 7:36

A bonus EP titled I'll Be There will be included with all purchases from Caldo Verde Records' website only upon the album's release date. Three of the four tracks are cover versions, with songs by Stereolab, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, and The Jackson 5 reinterpreted. "I'll Be There" was originally performed live by Kozelek in the aftermath of Michael Jackson's death.

1. "Third and Seneca" (Alternate Version) Mark Kozelek
2. "Tomorrow Is Already Here" Tim Gane, Lætitia Sadier
3. "Natural Light" Owen Ashworth
4. "I'll Be There" Berry Gordy, Bob West, Hal Davis, Willie Hutch

reason for this bump? it has leaked.

ok, ok. but i'll buy it too, honest, guv!

okay, two songs in, i'm liking this lots more than 'april' already. no electric guitars yet or drums, just mark and his acoustic and the occasional multi-tracked vocal, which is plenty

that's a good sign. i think it was a let-down to a lot of fans to hear that this disc is just acoustic guitar and vocals.

i'm on the fourth song now and not minding the lack of accompaniment one bit. this is haunting dusty music, strong enough to be spare and let silence speak through mark's fingerpicking

there was an ominous vibe to ghosts of the great highway that i'm hoping he returns to. april was less ominous and more sad and contemplative (still great, mind you).

daniel, i hesitate to get caught up in new album infatuation, but 'ghosts''s ominous vibe might be even more pronounced on this one. it sounds like he took a wit's end road trip through the southwest and recorded this in the random motels he spent nights at. anyways, a few minutes into song four, i think i hear buried low a shaker of some sort accenting the rhythm

awesome. i'm hoping it turns up on emusic. his label's there, but he pulled april within about a day of its arrival, and it hasn't been back since.

AFP is even further moored in introspection than april. it actually strikes me as a logical progression of april's last track 'blue orchids' with a conscious desire to sustain a unified tone throughout all the songs. it's like a refined, concentrated study of one solitary memory or, at least, an articulation of the one harmonised mood sustained from a collection of memories. i think, like all koz's works, it has that familiar ability to creep under your skin and i can imagine i'll be playing this for months to come. the main drawback i can find is that certain songs tend to get bogged down a bit - perhaps surprising given the simplicity of the arrangements.

yes, you are articulating what i've been thinking during preliminary listenings. the three proper skm albums definitely each have their own thing going on

it's funny, i feel like this is the most "challenging" skm release yet, which seems odd considering that the first couple include 10 minute+ songs.

his lyrics strike me as being sometimes cringeworthy, sometimes beautiful, and occasionally simultaneously falling into both categories...makes sense considering i think that is very true of old ramon, which is my favorite rhp

i really need to listen more to this, though. favorite parts thus far, the "leeeeeeeona" segment of 'you are the sun', and 'third and seneca' in its entirety

does it seem hyperbolic to cast him as being a genuinely Important Artist of our time? honestly, i feel like some of his stuff rivals/bests joni, neil, et al at their best. he is in touch with something that makes so much other stuff seem kinda hollow. like, i think even people are not particularly into his stuff would concede that he is the real deal

his lyrics strike me as being sometimes cringeworthy

never felt this way. songs like carry me ohio have such powerful, cutting lyrics.

i'd call him an Important Artist, but i think his appeal has always been reserved to individuals who feel an intensely personal connection to his songs. music listeners on the whole have perhaps never entirely accepted his greatness.

i think the impact and quality of MK's lyrics tend to vary a little bit. i would call the lyrics to 'duk koo kim' astonishing and beautiful.

don't get me wrong. he's possibly my favorite lyricist. carry me ohio, yeah. it's staggering in its beauty, capacity to go right to the heart, no matter the detours. xpost duk koo kim, absolutely

so when he has a line like "come out from the burning fire, butterfly" it sticks out. his best lyrics, by contrast seem like they came to him all at once and are as natural and graceful as his guitar pickin'

it is an extention of 'orchid,' however, it's way too much. that song on april was startling in it's approach. this is entirely too much of the same thing. he needs to do something different next time out, really.

Ex-painter of red houses, John Denver fan, AC/DC interpreter, Almost Famous fictionally famous bass player and all-around sackus sadicus Mark Kozelek has stepped up to the plate swinging the prettiest goddamn baseball bat you ever saw at the bloated corpus of latter-day “Porpoise Song” coveters and bleaters silly enough to raise a 6-string in honor of folk-rock troubadours past. He nixes the need for any and all Neil Young grovelers, Elektra recording artists circa 1969-1973 archivists, Gordon Lightfoot apologists, oldweirdamerikalonerfolkpsych annoyances - those crate-digging dingleberrys with their deathchant whine of “no, he’s okaaaay, but have you ever heard Perry Leopold’s “Experiment in Metaphysics”?” - and fusty, fetid beardos both old and new elegantly decaying in woodland settings to the delight of their barn-dwelling goggled hoot owl acolytes aloft in the rafters dreaming of dust turned to digital gold courtesy of their Sony 3D(eye) handicams. I mean anyone can live in the woods and wear long-flowing robes. Natalie Merchant and Pat Methany live in the woods and wear long-flowing robes. Heck, I live in the woods and wear long-flowing robes!

hmmm, from a great scott seward review of gotgh. touches on the kind of thing i don't get as far as ppl not appreciating him on a larger scale

he's absolutely a niche artist. no way he'd appeal to a broad cross-section of rock fans (not adolescent enough; too downbeat and dour; too reflective; quietly intense but reserved, as opposed to triumphantly loud and swaggering). but that's okay.

haha. i like scott's writing, even when i don't understand it. i wear long-flowing robes, too!

agreed that he needs to do something different next time, but it's nevertheless amazing to think how much his music has evolved stylistically over the years while still charged with the same resonating ability to appeal to people on a personal level.

it's funny that there's a song called 'australian winter' on here. when i saw koz play in sydney (in winter) a couple of years back he seemed ambivalent to the point of being disrespectful about visiting there. he even made a disparaging remark about how shitty the weather was. something about it obviously stuck with him.

he's absolutely a niche artist. no way he'd appeal to a broad cross-section of rock fans (not adolescent enough; too downbeat and dour; too reflective; quietly intense but reserved, as opposed to triumphantly loud and swaggering). but that's okay.

yeah, but i guess it has mystified me that even in the indie world it seems like he is underappreciated. i mean, as scott's review seems to suggest, ghosts came out at a time just before "freak folk" blew up in the amerindie world, and so many artists were namechecking the stuff that scott cites...i can't help but think it should have been an esp. fertile time for him to blow up

kozelek is a pretty amazing guitarist, great lyricist, great performer, blah blah blah. i don't have some axe to grind; i'm fine with him having whatever status happens to accrue to him, but it does genuinely surprise me that he is not more, like in the realm of receiving wilco-level accolades or something?

agreed that he needs to do something different next time, but it's nevertheless amazing to think how much his music has evolved stylistically over the years while still charged with the same resonating ability to appeal to people on a personal level.

yes. i always had a soft spot for rhp, and could enjoy all that stuff even at their most self-indulgent moments...but listen to, say, 'songs for a blue guitar', the penultimate rhp record, and then gotgh, and it's like 'whaaa?'. such a great leap. 'songs' is wonderful in its own way, but surely flawed. ghosts is just some crazy masterpiece. the list of records that have hit me as hard as that one did is fairly short. i mean, i always dug rhp, but wow.

when i saw koz play in sydney (in winter) a couple of years back he seemed ambivalent to the point of being disrespectful about visiting there.

he's fairly reliable for ill-advised stage banter

Wow this sounds like Jose Gonzalez.

In a good way, though. My favorite Kozelek-related release since I don't even know when. Beautiful.

But that nylon string guitar and those impeccably doubled vox = holy shit, Jose Gonzales. Almost definitely a coincidence, but still.

dunno-- i have a friend who is a big fan of both...they seem like the kind of artists that would overlap on last fm or on some music website's alogarithm

Wow this sounds like Jose Gonzalez.

ugh, really?

i mean, jose gonzalez is okay, and i like that junip group he's in. but comparing him to MK seems like he's punching out of his weight class.

Oh, well, yeah, obviously, no contest. I wasn't implying Jose was on part with Kozelek. But check out the first few songs on this new SKM album and tell me it doesn't remind you, at least superficially, of Veneer.

songs for a blue guitar was a total slowburner. i recall it as being the only album up to that point that didn't have at least a couple of tracks that totally floored me on first listen. but it has an appeal all of its own - plaintive, repetitive songs that are perhaps a little bit unambitious by MK's standards, but still strike a special and unique chord with me when i'm feeling a certain way. 'have you forgotten' is one of my favourite RHP moments and that has a lot to do with the sincerity and warmth of its message.

yeah, that's a beautiful song. i should give that record more attention. all mixed up is pretty great, too

i really like old ramon, which a lot of ppl seem to dislike for whatever reason

it does genuinely surprise me that he is not more

Music geeks love this dude like few others. But as for the casual music fan, not so much. I put on the first Sun Kil Moon record for my wife, who isn't a big music fan, but I figured she'd like it because girls are sensitive. Two minutes in she was begging me to shut it off, she couldn't take his mumbling. He really does sing like he has marbles in his mouth. If you're picking up what he's laying down, you look past it. But if you're not, it could spell musical trouble.

as a music geek, i adore both of his projects. my wife does not like them anymore after 16 years if listening to them. Saw him live in 97 and he made my wife cry with his version of little drummer boy.

oh and it took me a while to get into this one...but im enjoying it more with winter approaching.

This one still hasn't clicked for me, just feels like a bit of a letdown after the previous two. Just not the tone I was hoping for, which is more my problem than his, but just can't embrace this like I hoped.

yeah i haven't fully embraced it and you are right it is a letdown. but its decent enough to give it a few listens, especially Alesund.