I first heard of Sun Kil Moon from my younger brother. He showed me “Sí, Paloma.” I was hit immediately with a wave of warmth, laid over me like a freshly laundered blanket, as the soft, acoustic sounds surrounded me from all angles. It was the kind of song that makes you immediately connected to your surroundings through its gentle and meticulous attention to detail. Sparse in instrumentation, yet full in sound, Sun Kil Moon, the moniker for musician Mark Kozelek, is an indie folk rock act from San Francisco, whose music is filled with dense storytelling, effortless instrumentals, and rich, emotive vocals. Started in 2002 by assembling a band for his critically acclaimed project Ghosts of the Great Highway, Kozelek, over two decades later, now tours solo, with just a guitar in hand.
I had the pleasure of seeing Kozelek at The Constellation Room in Santa Ana on his latest tour, a cozy venue that gives a great view of Kozelek from any spot. Every head was turned towards him, enraptured, soaking in every guitar hit, dedicated to hanging onto each word. Highlights from the show included “Red Poison,” “Nervous to Fly,” “ Admiral Fell Promises ,” and “I Watched the Film ‘The Song Remains the Same,’” — all aided by guitar licks by Kozelek, whose fingers cascaded down the strings like water.
The first song that made the audience nod and smile was “Dogs,” which was lyrically dense, narratively heavy, and harrowingly honest, with lines such as, “the nature of attraction cycles on and on/And nobody's right, and nobody's wrong/Our early life shapes the types to which we are drawn.” It was also quite funny; “Katy Kerlan was my first kiss/I was only 5 years old and she hit me with her purse ... And from that day moving forward, I've been petrified of blondes.”