Jesu / Sun Kil Moon – Jesu / Sun Kil Moon
Another fine collaboration for Mark Kozelek, who finally lets the music do the talking
On Last Night I Rocked the Room Like Elvis and Had Them Laughing Like Richard Pryor, Mark Kozelek recounts the day June 13 2015, blow for blow, including trying to call his sister on her birthday (she eventually picks up) and reading a review online (“Pitchfork gave me a ‘6’”). He continues to read fanmail from Singapore slamming the British press reaction to a notorious London show last year. With this, we may have reached peak Kozelek. It sounds sublime, the lyrics are wonderful, and he just can’t help but needle his critics.
Jesu’s crunching, industrial guitar, subtle drum machines and harmonies compliment Kozelek’s meandering, caustic tales differently to past collaborators such as The Album Leaf and Desertshore, but it works just as well, helped by star turns from the likes of Low and Will Oldham. After an infantile year in which his profile soared for the wrong reason, the music does the talking here, reminding us that for all his flaws, Kozelek has found a way to splice proclivity and excellence. [Finbarr Bermingham]