Sun Kil Moon

A few years ago, Mark Kozelek, frontman from Red House Painters, went to see The Shins open for Modest Mouse. After The Shins were done, Kozelek stuck around to see Modest Mouse, despite not being familiar with them at all. Well, Kozelek was blown away by the Mouse and that strong reaction has led to tomorrow's release of Tiny Cities. The release from Kozelek's solo project, Sun Kil Moon, is an album of eleven Modest Mouse covers.

Kozelek is a covers master. In 2001, he released an album of all AC/DC covers and has also covered Will Oldham, Neil Diamond and others. However, his strength is not just in his choice of covers but also in his re-interpretation of the songs. His versions sound so little like the originals that they may as well be original tunes. He stays true to the lyrics but the melodies are fair game in Kozelek's mind. Plus, he brings everything down to a dark mellow folk quotient.

So, whether you like or hate Modest Mouse, it doesn't matter. These tunes stand on their own and will be enjoyed by anyone who likes picking acoustic guitar, echo vocals and backing strings that provide a smooth texture.

The first four tracks below are from Tiny Cities. The rest are from other releases.

Sun Kil Moon - Ocean Breathes Salty
Sun Kil Moon - Convenient Parking
Sun Kil Moon - Neverending Math Equation (courtesy The Camera As Pen)
Sun Kil Moon - Trucker's Atlas (courtesy threejivekids)
Sun Kil Moon - Carry Me Ohio
Sun Kil Moon - Kentucky Women (Neil Diamond cover)
Mark Kozelek - New Partner (two-minute edit version of his cover of Wil Oldham's "New Partner")