Koz for celebration
4
By xfacto
There is a sudden wealth of new music available from Mark Kozelek, including this years’ “Among The Leaves” from Sun Kil Moon, “Drawing Of Trees” by Desertshore, Perils from The Sea by Mark Kozelek and Jimmy LaValle, and now, “Mark Kozelek and Desertshore” by Mark Kozelek and Desertshore. This latest release picks up exactly where “Among The Leaves” left off with “Mariette”, but then returns to a style consistent with “Song For A Blue Guitar” by the Red House Painters (another Mark Kozelek led band) on Livingston Bramble, including a discordant guitar similar to the one which inhabits “Moments” from the group’s “Ocean Beach”. After that the album explores some new styles which could be considered experimental, but never drifts into self indulgence. The songs often feature a guitarist in a variety of circumstances and introspections, but it is not always clear if they are autobiographical or simply first person characterizations. The songs are a lot more straight forward in terms of both music and vocal delivery and contrast significantly with the beauty and melodic nature of “Among The Leaves”; however, they share the self contemplative nature of the best songs from “Perils From The Sea” such as “When I Awoke”, and “Ceiling Gazing” although they fail to evoke the same level of empathy and feeling. In addition to “Mariette” and “Livingstone Bramble”, “Don’t Ask About My Husband” and “Sea Rock Motel” would rank among Koz’s best. The rest are just an artist trying to stretch and that’s fine with me, except for “Tavoris Cloud” which is a good song but relies on a repetitive expletive which comes off as lazy as opposed to poignant, but perhaps gives us an update on how the artist is feeling at 46 compared to where he was on “24”. I just hope his prolific streak continues, because I plan to buy everything he puts out.
