Mark Kozekel – INDIE ROCK CAFE

The new releases stack is growing out of control so if you wanna help, we’re all ears. Seriously. Some of the noteworthy new releases include albums by Black Lips, Get Up Kids, Deastro, Mark Kozelek, All American Rejects, Justin Vernon, That Was Something, The Firemen (with Paul McCartney) and Artist Vs. Poet.

Newly available EPs from Luv Lux, Third Eye Blind and Cat Power are out and Christmas themed albums from Backseat Goodbye and Gentlemen Auction House are perfect for right this time of year.

Alternative rock and post punk fans might want to check out special editions from artists like Pavement and Husker Du, not to mention live concerts and studio sessions from Foo Fighters, Belle and Sebastian, Paul Weller and Long Winters.

MP3: “Sweet, Sweet Magdalene” – Justin Vernon from For Emma, Forever Ago

Yesterday we featured the Illinoise pop band Headlights as the IRC Artist of the Month.

So it only makes sense to let you know that Headlights has released a new remixes album containing some creative covers of songs from their previous two full lengths and one EP. The album, strangely titled Remixes, features remixes from artists like

The following list of new releases over the past few weeks was taken in part and parcel from our blogger friends at Music Under Fire and other sources.

Avant – Avant (Official) (MySpace)
Backseat Goodbye – A Christmas EP (Official) (MySpace)
Black Lips – We Did Not Know The Forest Spirit Made The Flowers (Official) (MySpace)
Busta Rhymes – B.O.M.B. (Official) (MySpace)
Cat Power – Dark End of the Street EP (Official) (MySpace)
Get Up Kids – Four Minute Mile (MySpace)
Harmonic 313 – Dirtbox 12″ (Official) (MySpace)
Headlights – Remixes (Official) (MySpace)
Long Winters – Live at the Showbox DVD (Official) (MySpace)
Luv Lux – The Brave Kids In Color EP (Official) (MySpace)
Mark Kozekel – The Finally LP (Official) (MySpace)
Paul Weller – Weller at the BBC (Official) (MySpace)
Pavement – Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition (Official) (MySpace)
That Was Something – Down But Not Out (MySpace)
The Magnificents – Year of Explorers (Official) (MySpace)

Alaska in Winter – Holiday (Official) (MySpace)
All-American Rejects – When The World Comes Down (Official) (MySpace)
Artist Vs Poet – Self Titled (Official) (MySpace)
Belle and Sebastian – The BBC Sessions (Official) (MySpace)
Deastro – Keeper’s (download only) (Official) (MySpace)
Foo Fighters – Live at Wembly Stadium (Official) (MySpace)
Gentleman Auction House – Christmas In Love (Official) (MySpace)
Husker Du – Candy Apple Grey (vinyl reissue) (Official) (MySpace)
The Fireman – Electric Arguments (Official) (MySpace)
The New Regime – Coup (Official) (MySpace)
Third Eye Blind – Red Star [EP] (Official) (MySpace)
You, Me, And Everyone We Know – So Young, So Insane (Official) (MySpace)

Pained and yet hauntingly beautiful, Mark Kozelek‘s music as a solo artist and with Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon has gained him great respect in the music community, especially among indie folk rock fans.

Kozelek’s record label, Caldo Verde Records, announced this week the pre-order sales for both Sun Kil Moon’s new album April and the re-issue of Kozelek’s 2002 book Nights of Passed Over, a compendium of his lyrics and other writings through the years.

The limited edition (only 2,500 copies) re-issue of the hard-cover book will come along with a 12 song CD titled Nights LP, featuring live and rare versions of Kozelek’s music from 1996 through 2007. The limited edition will be available for pre-order on March 17 on Caldo Verde Records website only.

The first 2,800 copies of April are autographed and numbered by Mark Kozekel and available for pre-order ($15.99) beginning March 12, 2008.

The release of April will mark the first original recording from Mark Kozelek since Tiny Cities (an album of Modest Mouse covers) in 2005 and Sun Kil Moon’s 2003 debut classic Ghosts of the Great Highway, which was recently re-issued.

During the past decade, Kozelek’s sombre acoustic sound, tender vocals and guilt-ridden and troubled lyrics propelled the otherwise shy and Kozelek in to the emerging indie rock ‘blogosphere’ where fans gobbled up his music and bloggers hailed the arrival of yet another brilliant songwriter. He has been compared to artists like Nick Drake and Elliot Smith.

Mark Kozelek’s Music and Videos:

MP3 – “Ocean Breathes Salty” – Mark Kozelek/Sun Kil Moon
Stream – “Heron Blue” and “Drop” from Sun Kil Moon’s upcoming release April.

The songs for April were recorded between March and August 2007 in San Francisco and Seattle. Contributors include other well-known artists like vocalists Bonnie Prince Billy, Eric Pollard and Ben Gibbard (Death Cab and Postal Service), plus drummer Anthony Koutsos (Red House Painters), bassist Geoff Stanfield (Black Lab), violist Michi Aceret and percussionist David Revelli.

April contains 11 songs that play for 74 minutes. On March 16, 2008, the album will be available as a digital download on the record label’s site for $7.99 with album art included.

The following video is an interview with Mark Kozelek in which he performs “Bubble”.

– Check the concert tours for Sun Kil Moon and Mark Kozelek
– Sun Kil Moon’s MySpace page
– Sun Kil Moon’s official website from their label Caldo Verde

Paste magazine’s review of April:

“Kozelek’s work has proven over the years that it reveals itself slowly,” O’Connor writes about April. “What grabs you at first is the simple, gorgeous hook, which turns out to be a gateway drug to the deeper mysteries that power his music.”

Jonathan Cohen, Billboard

“From 10-minute, three-guitar jams to heartbreaking acoustic ballads, April shines with the most evocative music of Kozelek ‘s career.”

Category: Mark Kozekel

New Indie Releases, December 2008

Mark Kozelek and Sun Kil Moon’s New Album, Book and Tour