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SUN KIL MOON Tiny Cities It's around the second refrain of "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes," the title track of Sun Kil Moon's Tiny Cities, that it becomes apparent this song's been done before. But the melody's been slowed down. There is an eruption of acoustic guitar. And the voice belongs to a reflective, more sensitive-sounding fellow. Tiny Cities is Mark Kozelek's tribute album to Modest Mouse – those over-the-top rockers who redefined emo with their loud drums and even louder trumpets. But comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges. Kozelek – the man behind Sun Kil Moon and frontperson of Red House Painters – keeps only Modest Mouse's lyrics in this beautifully sparse sophomore effort. Each song on the album is striped down to its simplest form, with guitar and the occasional percussion for backup. Kozelek's bittersweet, brooding voice takes center stage – his hallmark style inspiring comparisons to Nick Drake's. The Modest Mouse songs Kozelek chose deal mostly with travel and the desire to come home. In "Space Travel Is Boring," the mantra goes like this: "I read a paperback, and I want to come home soon. I'm shy to the moon" – a perfect soundtrack for postvacation blues. (Stephanie Laemoa) MARK KOZELEK Jan. 18, 8 p.m. Great American Music Hall 859 O'Farrell, SF (415) 885-0750 www.musichallsf.com |
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