Sun Kil Moon – Ghosts Of The Great Highway
Mark Kozelek, former leader of Red House Painters, is certainly capable of throwing fans the occasional curveball; witness his 2001 solo set of Bon Scott-era AC/DC covers, What’s Next To The Moon. But fear not. His new quartet, Sun Kil Moon, does not mark a radical stylistic departure. Kozelek still turns nearly every phrase he sings into an extended sigh of romantic resignation, and his Neil Young fixation remains intact. Regardless, Ghosts Of The Great Highway is audibly the product of a musician rejuvenated by playing with new cohorts.
Yet even as he moves forward, Kozelek seems obsessed, at least lyrically, with looking back on this ten-song disc. Love affairs gone awry pop up repeatedly. On the xylophone-sprinkled “Carry Me Ohio”, he apologizes for his inability to return affection; likewise, “Last Tide” finds him lamenting an inability to let down his defenses. Death also figures prominently throughout. “Glenn Tipton” addresses the passing of Kozelek’s father and a neighborhood doughnut shop owner, while the Crazy Horse-esque “Salvador Sanchez” pays homage to the featherweight boxing champ who died suddenly in 1982 at age 23.
Musically, Ghosts is much broader in scope. After a three-song, mid-album suite of tranquil, midtempo numbers featuring a string trio, Kozelek slaps down “Lily And Parrots”, a crunchy alt-rocker with cascading surf guitars that trumps anything on the last Weezer full-length. Looking for a new ditty to DJ at the big autumn harvest dance? Check out the penultimate “Si Paloma”, a twirling, folky instrumental, full of mandolin licks and maracas, that verges on certain passages by Fragile-era Yes.
Despite its sepia-tone cover and reflective lyrical tone, Ghosts Of The Great Highway is far from monochromatic; au contraire, it’s one of Kozelek’s most vibrant records yet.