Sun Kil Moon
April

Released in 2008 by his own Caldo Verde, "April" is the last album entirely composed of original material published by Mark Kozelek.

This represents a mature singer-songwriter style, with melancholic tones, centered around two splendid focal points: on one side, the warm, unmistakable voice of the musician from Ohio; his fine guitar structures, which in this case are constructed with predominantly non-electrified instruments, on the other hand. The range of this work is quite broad and spans, as we have long been accustomed to, the roots of American music. Folk, country, and rock 'n roll emerge, naturally, from the inspired pen of the composer. Kozelek also pays homage (in "Lucky Man", as in the splendid music of "Tonight In Bilbao") to one of his most well-concealed musical passions: prog rock. Nevertheless, the final result is very homogeneous, monochromatic, and dark like the album cover.

The true novelty, however, is the obvious interest of the author in classical guitar, especially the Spanish school, which is destined to reverberate in several tracks of the album; at times, the texture of the songs is much more dynamic and complex than in the past. Kozelek, always praised for his singing/songwriting abilities, is slowly carving out a place of prominence among the greats of the six-string in this new millennium.

For the quality of the individual tracks, overall vision, "mood" and scope (almost 74 minutes of music), "April" can be compared, in my humble opinion, only to the monumental "Rollercoaster" by the Red House Painters.

Allow me a conjecture: reading several interviews with Kozelek and researching online, I am increasingly convinced that Kozelek's affection for classical guitar is not just a fleeting summer love but a seed that, when germinated, will bring about a small shift in the career of the American artist. I eagerly await a concrete response. Perhaps on July 13th...