Sun Kil Moon
Admiral Fell Promises

In 2003, Kathy dies. The muse of "Kathy's song" taken by cancer. Mark Kozelek - the greatest songwriter of his generation - is devastated. Loner par excellence, he had never engaged in such a stable and lasting relationship. From this pain would come the inspiration to write "April", a dark and shining masterpiece. It was logical for Mark to opt in the future for an emotionally more detached, more serene album.

New Zealand. A few years ago, at a music market, Kozelek purchased a box set of five CDs by Andres Segovia. He is captivated by the notes of the Spanish maestro and begins to compulsively listen to all the classical guitar music that comes his way; he starts studying it, as he did when he was still a fourteen-year-old boy.

This substance and form live on in "Admiral Fell Promises", released under the moniker Sun Kil Moon in July 2010 for the Caldo Verde label.

Kozelek allows himself to be cradled by the warm fog of memories, narrating of curious encounters at the airport, motels, unconsummated loves and the travels that tear apart his daily routine, far from beloved San Francisco. The musical accompaniment is as essential as ever: nylon string guitars weave lush arpeggios that speak a Hispanic language; the voice is warm and deep as always, often doubled, multiplied.

Essential instrumentation and unusually complex, baroque harmonies. Melancholic songwriting and bursts of classical music. Oxymorons hover over this new work, in which once again in his career the Ohio native proves pure class and quality. A work that, however, does not convince me to the point of giving it top marks. Perhaps it's because with this latest incarnation Kozelek partially renounces the rigor and essentiality I admired so much. Perhaps it’s a difficult album to digest even for those who know his discography by heart.

What is certain is that Mark celebrates twenty years of career and almost thirty official releases by challenging himself with an unexpectedly cohesive and remarkable record. Only his talent could allow him to reinvent himself using only two instruments.

Curious tribute from Kozelek to Pink Floyd: "Half Moon Bay" slyly reflects the middle part of "Dogs".