Rock ‘n’ Roll Singer
Rock ‘n’ Roll Singer
It’s been four years since Red House Painters’ Songs For A Blue Guitar was released, with its near-legendary guitar solo on “More Like Paper” (allegedly the reason behind the Painters’ parting of ways with their label, 4AD). Since then, legal difficulties have prevented the release of its follow-up, Old Ramon. Fans, therefore, must content themselves with this haunting, acoustic solo record from singer Kozelek in the interim. It’s as solemn, slow-paced and simmering as one would expect from the man who invented “slowcore”, but nowhere near as meandering as his main group could sometimes be. Songs like “Around And Around” and the poignant elegy “Rose Marie” have a Denver-esque quality to them, while Kozelek’s cover of AC/DC’s youth anthem “Rock’N'Roll Singer” is almost unrecognisable. It’s amazing what a little minimalism will do. –Everett True
Customer Review: Kozelek’s Understated Gem (4.5 stars)
Along with “What’s Next To The Moon,” this album represents Kozelek’s work as solo artist, after the demise of the wonderful Red House Painters period.
For those people particularly in love with RHP’s sound, this may be require a bit of an adjustment. This is a quiet outing, intimate and almost withdrawn. This, by itself, should not be a big surprise since RHP, even when they rocked, maintained a thoughful and melancholy tone.
Once you accept that there’s plenty to welcome, as much in his own compositions as in the chosen covers. To start with the latter, I must say that Denver’s tune, “Around And Around” is probably the best non-Kozelek song in this album. The AC-DC versions are good but better covers can be found in his other aforementioned solo album.
Now, when it comes to the self-penned material, “Find Me, Ruben Olivares” is as good as your favorite RHP stuff, and “Ruth Marie” may be one of the most gorgeous folk songs written by anyone in a long, long time.
Whereas most solo spin-offs after great bands disband, often, tend to lose the luster of the previous material, Kozelek manages to maintain the quality you may already be accustomed to, and will satisfy anyone without the obligation of being a faithful completist.
Customer Review: One of 2K’s best albums!
I have listened to Red House Painters ALOT and I still find new magical stuff in their records. This new soloalbum from Kozelek hasn’t quite the same slow and moaning feel over it. It is a bit more faster and happier. Not to say that it is a happy record. When all is said and done: this is definitely one of the best records I’ve EVER bought. It’s a shame it’s only about 28 minutes, but every single second is pure Kozelek-magic…
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