LITTLE DRUMMER BOY — LIVE - MARK KOZELEK
Via his work with Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon and his startling transformations of AC/DC and Modest Mouse songs, Mark Kozelek has become a master of setting his emotional tumult to indelible music. And while his studio work swings from bare-bones acoustic introspection to Crazy Horse-worthy jams, Kozelek in concert is usually a one-man-with-an-acoustic tightrope walk between drama and depression. This live set is uniformly beautiful but really hits home on originals like “Cruiser” and “Void,” where Kozelek’s matter-of-fact narratives work in lock-step with his emotive voice and delicate fingerpicking. Tracks with second guitarist Phil Carney conjure a Simon & Garfunkel vibe, particularly covers of Modest Mouse’s “Four-Fingered Fisherman” and “Trucker’s Atlas.” Kozelek’s music may be downtrodden, but with admissions like “I need someone much more mysterious/To be my mistress,” it’s always grounded in the cold, hard truth. Billboard
(Caldo Verde Records)
