nick drake – INDIE ROCK CAFE

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.”

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