To hell with them all. It seems that Mark Kozelek has been saying this more and more lately. He started his own record label, he’s been working with fewer and fewer people on each record and using more austere instrumentation. On “Admiral Fell Promises,†Mark takes this a step further by exclusively playing the nylon string acoustic.
To my ears, this album is full of growers. Each song seems to demand a thorough listen. They tend to be slow melodies sung over subtle Spanish guitar arpeggios. Without a pop song structure, the melodies seem to meander in and out of guitar solos and verses. They’re unpredictable and demanding. But if you give them some time to percolate and marinate, they will often reward in spades.
The second half of the album gains some cohesion where the first half seemed without a direction. “Bay of Skulls†has a gentle fingerpicked rhythm over Mark’s baritone. It’s layered vocals and guitar have a relentless appeal. They demonstrate where Mark will take a song without any limits on his bounds. Many early Sun Kil Moon listeners may be put off.
“Third and Seneca†kicks off the most accessible portion of the record. Mark’s voice croons clearly and the narrative is easy to follow. He’s back somewhere near a stripped down versions of “Ghosts of the Great Highway.†“You Are My Son†continues the more accessible streak with a slightly more high-pitched and plaintive singing tone.
The first three songs clock in at over five minutes with long guitar passages. The length of the song in this case seems to be a bit of a clutch. The instrumental portions blur the lines between the songs. At times, I found myself forgetting that the song was still playing. That’s not to say that the songs were not interesting, they were just so abstract at times.
After such an austere offering, I hope Mark comes back with something a bit more full band. Perhaps Mark will try his luck at a full band pop record. I don’t know that he can push the austerity any further (nor do I want to see him try)!
About the author: Jeff is a teacher in the Boston area. When not buried correcting papers, Jeff can be found plucking various stringed instruments and listening to all types of americana music.