Red House Painters

See also: Sun Kil Moon

Mark Kozelek is a tough guy to figure out, what with his dual skill crafting painfully personal narratives and his penchant for un-ironically reinterpreting material by such mainstream rock forefathers as John Denver, AC/DC, and Kiss. Luckily, there’s no shortage of opportunity for amateur psychoanalysis on the records he makes as the leader of Red House Painters, a rock combo known equally for Kozelek's lacerating lyrics as for its sparse, guitar-driven epics. A series of mid-'90s albums on 4AD (including two distinct 1993 self-titled releases) made underground favorites out of the Painters and such like-minded acts as Low and Codeine, thanks to a modern spin on classic influences such as Nick Drake and Simon & Garfunkel. Contractual wrangling silenced the group from 1996-2001 until Sub Pop finally released the long-since-completed Old Ramon, which sports some of the Painters' finest work to date. Kozelek has also made forays into acting ("Almost Famous") and recorded solo, including What's Next To The Moon, a largely acoustic EP of AC/DC covers.

Album reviews

Old Ramon (Recommended)
Sub Pop (2001)
No matter how many references to the classics creep into the cartilage and corrupt the skeleton, the flesh is uniquely Kozelek, romantic and dreamy in an almost frightening manner, stinking of metaphysical and personal insecurity, rotting inside while it looks healthy outside. Damn this shit is good.

Songs For A Blue Guitar
Supreme/Island (1996)
Songs For A Blue Guitar is a welcome display of deviance. Originally intended as a Kozelek solo album, Songs was recorded at "a studio out in the woods" where Kozelek "went to record without any rehearsals."