Sun Kil Moon Album: “Tiny Cities”

I've been a long-time fan of Mark Kozelek in just about every single musical project that he's undertaken. His early music in Red House Painters helped me through some rather rough periods of my life and his work since then has all been at the very least quite good. If nothing else, the self-titled (rollercoaster) release made me feel I wasn't alone in my depression, while Songs For A Blue Guitar still ranks as one of my top 10 favorite releases ever. When I heard that Kozelek was going to be doing an entire album of Modest Mouse covers, I was hopeful, but somewhat cautious.

It's true that he's done cover albums before and they've turned out fine. What's Next To The Moon seemed to wring emotions out of the music of AC/DC that I never thought possible, and over the years he's done amazing covers of both Simon And Garfunkel's "I Am A Rock" and even a weird version of the Star Spangled Banner. Unfortunately, Tiny Cities seems to be one of the first major stumbles for Kozelek, and there are several reasons for it.

The first is that instead of adding some sort of urgency or pulling out some unique quality from the songs themselves, most of his reworkings of Modest Mouse tracks completely sterilize the originals into rather mush-mouthed coffee-house covers. Kozelek picks songs from every single album from the group, and while I applaud his choices, his actual performances are pretty narrow in scope (usually limited to repeated guitar phrases and some sort of slight melody and timing change with the vocals). In fact, other than a couple tracks, it doesn't even sound like a Sun Kil Moon release, as only a few tracks feature much more than acoustic guitar and vocals. Instead, the release limps by with weepy covers of tracks like "Jesus Christ Was An Only Child" and "Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes" (the worst offender on the album) that suck most of the interesting qualities from the originals.

All of the above said, there are a couple standouts, including the full-band "Dramamine" (that keeps the woozy feel of the original and actually builds on it) and "Grey Ice Water" (where Kozelek duets with Emily Herron over a march-step snare and some pretty guitars). Out of the subdued pieces, the closer of "Ocean Breathes Salty" Kozelek manages to pull the ultra-melancholy out of the lyrics and set them to a subdued arrangement that makes the track his own (like the best of his covers). It was a valiant try, but Tiny Cities just doesn't have a lot going for it unless you're a die-hard fan of Kozelek.

(from almost cool music reviews)

Yes, I am a long-standing Red House Painters/Mark K fan--from the first album (and some early SF appearances) on. And yes, I am particularly fond of Mark's covers. But this album is unreal.

I do not care for Modest Mouse, nor had I heard any of these songs prior to this album. And frankly, I'm glad. Because even though I enjoy Mark's covers for what they are, these songs work for me on an entirely different level, since they were new to me, and they harken back to the early (and best) RHP material. And having recently dug up the MM originals--none of which did much for me--I'm even more amazed by this man's ability to interpret the work of others.

Melancholy as Mark can be, I find much of this album quite uplifting. Now if Mark only got the commercial attention of which he is so deserving, all would be right with the world...

I have read the reviews for this album on Amazon.com, and I must say that I am somewhat underwhelmed by what most people have written. Underwhelmed, but not surprised.

Both Sun kil Moon and Modest Mouse are amazing, so much so that they both reside in my top 10 favorite bands. Because both of these bands are so great in their own way, they have a way of creating hardcore fans who may close their minds to something different. And that is the problem. Sun Kil Moon and Modest Mouse can almost be considered to be polar opposites. People from both camps may be somewhat turned off because of the involvement of the other. To me, that is the real genius of 'Tiny Cities'.

Being familiar with both bands before I heard this album, I knew the beauty and power that these bands can infuse in songs. I loved both of these bands, but never imagined Sun Kil Moon covering Modest Mouse songs. So, when I heard that this album existed, I bought it immediately and with much enthusiasm, without even listening to the samples. And, as a fan of both of these bands, I would like to say that I love it!

Currently, I have a playlist open in media player, playing the Modest Mouse song, then the Sun Kil Moon cover, (I had already owned all the Modest Mouse albums that had all the original songs) and I could not be happier. The real genius behind 'Tiny Cities' is that it manages to transform songs that would seem impossible to interpret because of their level of musical challenge. What is even more impressive is that the heart from the original songs is somehow kept intact, and expressed through someone else's voice and musicality.

Okay, I will admit that when it comes to music, my tastes are extremely eclectic. Also, I have a very soft spot for cover albums, because I love to hear other people's interpretations of things that I already like. Also, given that this is essentially a Sun Kil Moon album, it may seem a little dense for exclusive fans of Modest Mouse. But I believe that fans on both sides can use this as an opportunity to broaden their horizons a little. 'Tiny Cities' is a great album, and is a labor of love and admiration. I like to look at it that way as well.

I recommend this fully to all who love music.

I am of the school that was hoping for a little bit more from this album. I know it's not very fair to judge this against Ghosts of the Great Highway, but I can't help at least comparing them a little bit. I bought this album and listened to it through several times before finding out it covered Modest Mouse songs. Here were my objective opinions of it at that time: Good, but nothing grabbed me like in the first album. I remember listening to the first album feeling like Kozelek had his fists wrapped around pieces of my soul. Not so much with Tiny Cities. The songs were all nice, all wonderful, but it was almost like comparing Kraft Singles to a block of aged sage cheddar. Still cheese, but the Singles are just too small and not quite satisfying. Only one song goes over the 4 minute mark. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't lose myself in it like the previous album. I didn't feel like he was laying his deepest feelings bare, which is obviously a bit more difficult to do while singing someone else's lyrics, and it showed when I first listened to the album. Now that I have heard it several more times it has grown on me a bit, but I still find myself listening to Ghosts of the Great Highway most nights, as I have for the past two years. I love Kozelek's music and I applaud him for this cd, but I hope the next one wows me like the rest of his music has.

PS One exception on this album is the song "Ocean Breathes Salty". What a beautiful song. This is what I had hoped the whole album would turn out to be...

Update: I am an idiot, and spoke too soon. Five Stars. You will love this album.

for the most part, sun kil moon & red house painters = mark kozelek. he writes, produces and plays practically everything. koutsos and stanfield make appearances, but in my mind their additions to the music are pretty negligible.

kozelek has always done an excellent job covering songs throughout his career, from the cars to ace frehley [of kiss fame] to ac/dc. in general, his covers are interesting because he for the most part tosses the melody and invents his own, keeping only the lyrics. in this way, he makes the song his own--it conforms to kozelek's own style and idiosyncracies.

the best comparison here is 'what's next to the moon', his ac/dc covers earlier in the decade. but whereas that cd covered relatively unknown [at least to most 'alternative music' fans, whatever that means] tunes with radically changed melodies, this one falls short. few of the tunes get a radical reworking and practically all of them are well-known to even casual modest mouse fans.

there are some exceptions, especially 'exit does not exist' and the last track, but these tunes are not even the best isaac brock tunes lyrically. where is 'baby blue sedan', 'bankrupt on selling', 'wild pack of family dogs'? if you are going to toss the music and keep the lyrics, at least pick better tunes