Sun Kil Moon

Sun Kil Moon is an American folk rock act from San Francisco, California, founded in 2002. Initially a continuation of the defunct indie rock band Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon is now the primary recording moniker of vocalist and guitarist Mark Kozelek. The project is named after the Korean lightweight boxer Sung-Kil Moon.^[2]

Following the delayed release of Red House Painters' final studio album, Old Ramon (2001), vocalist and guitarist Kozelek began recording new material under the name Sun Kil Moon with bandmates Anthony Koutsos (drums) and Jerry Vessel (bass), alongside Geoff Stanfield and Tim Mooney. The resulting album, Ghosts of the Great Highway, was released in 2003 to widespread critical acclaim. The project's second studio album, Tiny Cities (2005), was composed entirely of Modest Mouse cover songs.

In 2008, the band released its third studio album, April. Recorded as a three-piece by Kozelek, Koutsos and Stanfield, the album was well received and featured guest vocal appearances from noted indie rock musicians Will Oldham and Ben Gibbard.

Inspired by classical guitar music, Kozelek recorded Sun Kil Moon's fourth studio album, Admiral Fell Promises (2010), as a solo act, and continued to record mostly alone on its follow-up, Among the Leaves (2012). In 2013, Kozelek released three studio albums under his own name before releasing Sun Kil Moon's sixth studio album, Benji, in February 2014, to widespread critical acclaim and increased exposure.

Sun Kil Moon's seventh studio album, Universal Themes, was released in June 2015.

History

Following the dissolution of Red House Painters after the tumultuous release of their last album, Old Ramon, Kozelek released a handful of solo recordings before forming Sun Kil Moon in 2002. The band's debut album, Ghosts of the Great Highway, was released in November 2003 by Jetset Records. It contains several songs concerned with true-life stories of deceased boxers, such as Mexican featherweight champion Salvador Sánchez, Filipino flyweight champion Pancho Villa, and also Korean boxer Duk Koo Kim, all three boxers died at the age of 23. The album was well received by critics, garnering an overall rating of 84/100 on Metacritic.com.^[3]

The band's follow-up Tiny Cities was released in November 2005 on Kozelek's own label Caldo Verde Records. The album covers eleven songs by the indie/alternative group Modest Mouse. Ghosts of the Great Highway was re-issued as a double CD in February 2007 on Caldo Verde. The second disc features six bonus tracks, including a cover of "Somewhere" written by Leonard Bernstein.

Sun Kil Moon's third studio album April was released in April 2008^[4] and features guest vocals from Will Oldham and Ben Gibbard. The album was issued as a double CD, featuring a bonus disc of alternate recordings of album tracks. The album was met with further critical acclaim, including a 4.5/5-star rating from Allmusic^[5] and 4-star reviews from Billboard, Mojo, The Boston Globe, and Drowned in Sound.^[6]

Admiral Fell Promises was released on July 13, 2010,^[4][7] and whilst credited to Sun Kil Moon, only Kozelek plays on the record, on nylon stringed guitar, and vocals.^[8]

Among The Leaves, Sun Kil Moon's fifth studio album, was released on May 29, 2012. Tim Mooney, the band's former drummer, died in June 2012.^[9]

Sun Kil Moon's sixth studio album, Benji, was released in February 2014.^[10] The record met with critical acclaim,^[11] and was named in the Best of 2014 lists of Fact,^[12] Stereogum,^[13] Pitchfork,^[14] Rough Trade,^[15] Drowned in Sound,^[16] Tiny Mix Tapes,^[17] and the NME.^[18]

Sun Kil Moon's sixth album of original material, Universal Themes, was released on June 2, 2015.^[19] The album features contributions from drummer Steve Shelley, who previously collaborated with Kozelek on the album, Benji.^[20]

On July 20, 2016 it was announced that Sun Kil Moon would be releasing a new double album, Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood would be released on February 28, 2017. The announcement was accompanied by the release of a new song, God Bless Ohio.^[21]

Boxing references

Kozelek is fascinated with the sport of boxing, which was the inspiration for the Sun Kil Moon moniker as well as several of their songs including the song "Duk Koo Kim".^[22] According to Kozelek:

Their backgrounds are extremely harsh and they work very hard to move up in their careers. I was in attendance at the Manny Pacquiao-Agapito Sánchez fight in San Francisco in 2001. When I heard Sanchez was murdered shortly after, (actually, it was four years later) it had a profound effect on me. It hurts when anyone dies young, but when you see the backgrounds of these guys and the path they've taken to try to find some light in their lives, it hurts to see them die young.^[22]

Duk Koo Kim was a Korean boxer who died after a nationally televised bout with Ray Mancini on November 13, 1982. Mancini is from Youngstown, Ohio, which is very close to Kozelek's hometown of Massillon. The triumph of the local hero soon turned into a tragedy that included the suicide death of both Kim's mother and the bout's referee, Richard Green.^[23]

The name Sun Kil Moon was inspired by that of boxer Moon Sung-kil. One of the band's songs, Pancho Villa, is named after the famous Filipino boxer of the same name, and it mentions Salvador Sánchez and Benny Paret.^[24]

Live performances

Discography

Mark Kozelek performing with Sun Kil Moon in Paris in 2014

Studio albums

• Ghosts of the Great Highway (2003)
• Tiny Cities (2005)
• April (2008)
• Admiral Fell Promises (2010)
• Among the Leaves (2012)
• Benji (2014)
• Universal Themes (2015)
• Common As Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood (2017)

Collaborations with Jesu

• Jesu/Sun Kil Moon (2016)
• 30 Seconds to the Decline of Planet Earth (2017)

Soundtracks / songs in films or television

• "Kentucky Woman" (in Elizabethtown)
• "The Arrival" (in The Girl Next Door)
• "Carry Me Ohio" and "Lily and Parrots" (in Shopgirl and The Elephant in the Living Room)
• "Gentle Moon" (in Friday Night Lights)
• "Heron Blue" (in Crash season 1, episode "F-36, Sprint Left, T-4" during closing credits and in Gears of War 3 "Ashes to Ashes" trailer and The Elephant in the Living Room)
• "Lost Verses" (in Californication season 2, episode 12: "La petite mort")
• "Like the River" (in Sons of Anarchy season 1: pilot)
• "Tonight the Sky" (in Brothers & Sisters season 3) and The Elephant in the Living Room )
• "Ålesund" (in Sons of Anarchy season 3, episode 11: Bainne)
• "Glenn Tipton" (in Sons of Anarchy season 4, episode 12: Burnt and Purged Away)
• "Third and Seneca" (in Sons Of Anarchy season 5, episode 3: Laying Pipe)
• "Among The Leaves" (in The Big C season 4, episode 2: Hereafter: You Can't Take It With You)
• "Onward" (in Youth)
• "Third & Seneca" (in Youth)

References

External links

• The official Sun Kil Moon/Mark Kozelek/Red House Painters website
• The official Mark Kozelek website
• The official Caldo Verde Records website