Sun Kil Moon
Encyclopedia
Sun Kil Moon is a music project of singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek
, best known for his previous band Red House Painters
. Sun Kil Moon sees Kozelek undertake the writing, composing, singing, and guitar playing, accompanied by Tim Mooney and Anthony Koutsos on drums, and Geoff Stanfield on bass. The band is named after Korean
lightweight
boxer
Sung-Kil Moon.
, 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
.
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 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 and 4-star reviews from Billboard
, Mojo
, The Boston Globe
, and Drowned in Sound
.
Fourth album, Admiral Fell Promises
, was released on July 13, 2010 and whilst credited to Sun Kil Moon only Kozelek plays on the record, on nylon stringed guitar
, and vocals.
April_(Sun_Kil_Moon_album)
Mark Kozelek
Mark Kozelek is an American singer/songwriter Producer and frontman of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters.-History:...
, best known for his previous band Red House Painters
Red House Painters
Red House Painters were an alternative rock group formed in 1989 in San Francisco, California by singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek.-History:While in Atlanta, Georgia, Ohio-born Kozelek became friends with Anthony Koutsos, a drummer. He then moved to San Francisco, California, adding guitarist Gorden...
. Sun Kil Moon sees Kozelek undertake the writing, composing, singing, and guitar playing, accompanied by Tim Mooney and Anthony Koutsos on drums, and Geoff Stanfield on bass. The band is named after Korean
Korean people
The Korean people are an ethnic group originating in the Korean peninsula and Manchuria. Koreans are one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogeneous groups in the world.-Names:...
lightweight
Lightweight
Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....
boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Sung-Kil Moon.
History
Following the dissolution of Red House Painters after the tumultuous release of their last album Old RamonOld Ramon
Old Ramon is the final album released by folk rock band Red House Painters. Originally completed in 1998, Mark Kozelek had to wait until 2001 to release the album. The band had previously been signed to Island/Supreme Records, but a series of major label mergers in the late '90s left the band...
, Kozelek released a handful of solo recordings before forming Sun Kil Moon in 2002. The band's debut album, Ghosts of the Great Highway
Ghosts of the Great Highway
Ghosts of the Great Highway is the 2003 debut album by San Francisco quartet Sun Kil Moon, led by Red House Painters' founder Mark Kozelek, who composed all of the lyrics and music on this album...
, was released in November 2003 by Jetset Records
Jetset Records
Jetset Records was a New York-based indie rock record label. The label has released a variety of independent bands, including Firewater, Sun Kil Moon and Mogwai.-Roster:*16 Horsepower*Arab Strap*Black Box Recorder*Dean and Britta*Congo Norvell...
. It contains several songs concerned with true-life stories of deceased boxers, such as Mexican featherweight champion Salvador Sánchez
Salvador Sánchez
Salvador Sánchez Narváez was a Mexican boxer born in the town of Santiago Tianguistenco, Estado de México. Many of his contemporaries as well as boxing writers believe that, had it not been for his premature death, Sanchez could have gone on to become the greatest Featherweight boxer of all time...
, Filipino flyweight champion Pancho Villa, and also Korean boxer Duk Koo Kim
Duk Koo Kim
Kim Duk-Koo was a South Korean boxer who died following a boxing match against Ray Mancini. His death sparked a number of reforms in the sport aimed to better protect the health of fighters.-Life and boxing career:...
, 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
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
The band's follow-up Tiny Cities
Tiny Cities
Tiny Cities is the second album by Mark Kozelek's Sun Kil Moon, released November 1, 2005. It features the same lineup from their debut release, Ghosts of the Great Highway. This album was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005 .The full-length album is composed of covers of...
was released in November 2005 on Kozelek's own label Caldo Verde Records
Caldo Verde Records
Caldo Verde Records is a San Francisco-based indie rock and folk record label founded by Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon frontman Mark Kozelek in 2005. The label primarily features releases by Kozelek and Sun Kil Moon, but has also released albums by Jesu, Corrina Repp, Retribution Gospel...
. The album covers eleven songs by the indie/alternative group Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. They are based in Portland, Oregon. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think...
. 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
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
.
Sun Kil Moon's third studio album April was released in April 2008 and features guest vocals from Will Oldham
Will Oldham
Will Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...
and Ben Gibbard
Ben Gibbard
Benjamin "Ben" Gibbard is an American musician known as a member of several successful indie rock bands. He is the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, and is also known for his project ¡All-Time Quarterback! and his first band, Pinwheel.-Personal life and career:Gibbard was...
. 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 and 4-star reviews from Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
, The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, and Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
.
Fourth album, Admiral Fell Promises
Admiral Fell Promises
Admiral Fell Promises is the third album of original material, and fourth overall, from Sun Kil Moon. The album was released on July 13, 2010 through Caldo Verde Records. Despite being released under the Sun Kil Moon moniker, the album is just Mark Kozelek solo on acoustic nylon-string guitar...
, was released on July 13, 2010 and whilst credited to Sun Kil Moon only Kozelek plays on the record, on nylon stringed guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
, and vocals.
April_(Sun_Kil_Moon_album)
Discography
- Ghosts of the Great HighwayGhosts of the Great HighwayGhosts of the Great Highway is the 2003 debut album by San Francisco quartet Sun Kil Moon, led by Red House Painters' founder Mark Kozelek, who composed all of the lyrics and music on this album...
(November 4, 2003) - Tiny CitiesTiny CitiesTiny Cities is the second album by Mark Kozelek's Sun Kil Moon, released November 1, 2005. It features the same lineup from their debut release, Ghosts of the Great Highway. This album was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005 .The full-length album is composed of covers of...
(November 1, 2005) - Ghosts of the Great HighwayGhosts of the Great HighwayGhosts of the Great Highway is the 2003 debut album by San Francisco quartet Sun Kil Moon, led by Red House Painters' founder Mark Kozelek, who composed all of the lyrics and music on this album...
2CD re-issue (February 6, 2007) - April (April 1, 2008)
- Tonight the Sky EP (January 2009)
- Admiral Fell PromisesAdmiral Fell PromisesAdmiral Fell Promises is the third album of original material, and fourth overall, from Sun Kil Moon. The album was released on July 13, 2010 through Caldo Verde Records. Despite being released under the Sun Kil Moon moniker, the album is just Mark Kozelek solo on acoustic nylon-string guitar...
(July 13, 2010) - I'll Be There EP (July 13, 2010)
Soundtracks / songs in films or television
- "Kentucky Woman" (in ElizabethtownElizabethtown (film)Elizabethtown is a 2005 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. Alec Baldwin has a small role as a CEO of an athletic shoe company and Susan Sarandon appears as a grieving widow...
) - "The Arrival" (in The Girl Next Door)
- "Carry Me Ohio" and "Lily and Parrots" (in ShopgirlShopgirlShopgirl is a 2005 American romantic drama film directed by Anand Tucker. The screenplay by Steve Martin is based on his 2000 novella of the same name.-Plot:...
) - "Gentle Moon" (in Friday Night LightsFriday Night Lights (TV series)Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
) - "Heron Blue" (in CrashCrash (2008 TV series)Crash is an American television drama series set in Los Angeles, California. It is the first original series produced by the Starz network. The network ordered a 13 episode season which premiered on October 17, 2008. The series is based on the 2004 film of the same name. It was developed for...
season 1, episode "F-36, Sprint Left, T-4" during closing credits, in Red Dead Redemption and in Gears of War 3Gears of War 3Gears of War 3 is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Studios exclusively for the Xbox 360. Originally due for release in April 2011, the game was delayed and eventually released on September 20, 2011....
"Ashes to Ashes" trailer) - "Lost Verses" (in CalifornicationCalifornication (TV series)Californication is an American comedy-drama that premiered on Showtime on August 13, 2007. The show was created by Tom Kapinos. The protagonist, Hank Moody , is a troubled novelist whose move to California, coupled with his writer's block, complicates his relationships with his longtime girlfriend...
season 2, episode 12: "La petite mort") - "Like the River" (in Sons of AnarchySons of AnarchySons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California...
season 1: pilot) - "Tonight the Sky" (in Brothers & Sisters season 3)
- "Ålesund" (in Sons of AnarchySons of AnarchySons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California...
season 3, episode 11: Bainne) - "Glenn Tipton" (in Sons of AnarchySons of AnarchySons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California...
season 4, episode 12: Burnt and Purged Away)