Music Review: “Tiny Cities” by Sun Kil Moon

Tiny Cities can’t really be compared to Ghosts of the Great Highway because it is not a Sun Kil Moon album. It’s more of a Mark Kozelek album. It is more comparable to What’s Next to the Moon, Mark’s album of AC/DC covers, in that its charm comes from the challenge of taking varied songs from an artist’s catalogue and molding them to create a cohesive sounding album. In this case, Mark has chosen Modest Mouse for the cover treatment. The songs range from 2004’s Good News For People Who Love Bad News to Modest Mouse’s debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to… blah blah blah. Mark ehrs on the side of succinctness when choosing his album title (only two words!), chopping off the “Made of Ashes” part of the song title “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes.” This can sort of be said about most of the songs on the album. He keeps the songs very short and chops away any complexities that may greatly differ them from eachother.

Tiny Cities definitely has a cohesive feel; although, this is why many songs end up sounding similar. You’ll be impressed (and moved) if you’ve heard the Modest Mouse songs, but if not, you’re more than likely to be bored of the terse, similar songs, especially since the CD lasts about a half hour.

The album is interesting in the way it’s mixed. It’s the first Kozelek album to really blot out any extensive instrumentation, instead opting to showcase Mark’s voice, sometimes blaring out both speakers. While listening to it on the road my dad said “One things for sure: he’s got a lovely voice.” The problem doesn’t lie in the vocals really, just the fact that mostly every song will start with ten seconds of guitar and then Mark hittin’ ya from both speakers and then an end.

The instrumentations in most of the songs sound vague and muddled behind the vocals. However, During a quick interlude in “Space Travel Is Boring,” the strings quickly swell, reminiscent of “Last Tide,” and you can hear a trace of Ghosts. The mandolins from “Si Paloma” and “Pancho Villa” also make a strong reappearence in “Grey Ice Water.” However, most of the time, you’ll be hearing Mark’s voice.

Mark’s no stranger to covers, transforming songs like Paul McCartney’s “Silly Love Songs” into tortured ballads with heartbreaking guitarplay and a weary but sweet voice. However, there aren’t many drastic renovations here. Most songs keep their respective tempos and melodies. Exceptions: his melodic reinterpretation of “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” makes “We’re drinking drinking drinking / Drinking coca coca / Coca cola” sound more like a sweet memory than a thumping reminder of commercialism. “Space Travel Is Boring” works well, as Mark reinvisions most of the intro melody, giving him a chance to gracefully work the chorus into the song. I also enjoy the melody he adds to the gritty “Convenient Parking,” opting for frantic guitarplay instead of a grooving bass; however, it still keeps the same feel as the original. He changes “Jesus Christ Was An Only Child” into a drifting, wail of a melody, but it doesn’t work as well here as before. The other enjoyable songs work because of Modest Mouse’s catchy melodies, not because of anything Mark did with them.

The best way to enjoy this album is on the road. If you’re a Mark Kozelek fan, and your question is: “Why did you do this, Mark? Why Modest Mouse, for God’s sake?” His answer would be: “Well, I started covering them while I was touring. Driving state to state day and night, these songs of travel and moving really spoke to me.” If you’re a Modest Mouse fan, and your question is: “Why the hell these songs?” He would say: “Well, I chose them because at least a part of every song, even if it’s just a line, had to do with places and travelling.” The first words you hear gliding toward you are “Does not exist, take an exit.” And off you go, “heading down the road to its tiny cities made of ashes,” “in the back seat,” starting “at the northwest corner, [going] down through California, beeline you might drive three days, three nights to the tip of Florida.”

If you treat the album like a small half hour trip, each song a tiny city, you’ll probably enjoy it. However, on its own, it isn’t worth listening to if you’re not a Mark Kozelek or Modest Mouse fan. And even if you were, the bluntly short songs and muddled instrumentation might make you wish you’d skipped the trip.