Sun Kil Moon, much like the band Swans, has been going through the third faze of his career in an interesting way. Much like Swans, the latest Sun Kil Moon albums are long, repetitively hypnotic works that have the ability to lull one into a sense of calm despite the songs going through movements and dolling out lyrics that would usually make one cringe in disgust or discomfort. Back in 2014, Mark Kozelek, the man behind Sun Kil Moon, released his most personal, wordy, and contemplative release at that point; that album was my personal album of that year, Benji. That album played like a heady, but still palatable singer-songwriter album, but its direct follow-up Universal Themes felt more rambly and cobbled together than I care to admit. While not a bad album, it just didn't have the cohesion as Benji, and was severely lacking in that hypnotic quality. And while this new album, of which I will be referring to as Common As Light... isn't a more concise album than its predecessor (because it is even more drawn out) I can easily say that it possesses that special quality that Benji did, and in my opinion, surpasses even that album in some areas.
Fair warning, this album isn't for the faint of heart, both the subject matter at times and more prominently, the running time, will test anyone but the most adamant and patient music listener. The album stretches out to over 2 hours with most tracks exceeding the seven-minute mark. However, that's not to say that their aren't moments of catchy-ness. In fact, the track "Vague Rock Song" for however meta it is to say, is actually a very catchy rock song that parodies the typical catchy rock song. A less Post-modern leaning example would be a track like "Philadelphia Cop".
But coming into this album wanting hooks and catchy refrains is to completely overlook what this album does so well; tell stories. While Benji can be seen as a near flawless blend of these two things, Common As Light does the latter so well and to such extremes that it actually slides and slips from one genre to another. And I don't just mean musical genre, as their are even other genre's of art incorporated here, most notably spoken-word which is something that Mark has been leaning towards heavily in the last few years, and on this album I'd say about a third of the lyrical content is purely spoken word, if not more.
And yeah, that may lead a lot of listeners to become sort of bored and uninterested, but again, the entertainment and artistry of this album comes through on the lyrics, and Mark's lyrics have never been so personal, poignant, funny and crude in his entire career. On track after track Mark describes his inner feelings of sadness, pride, and longing. But he also acts as a snide commentator on everything from snobby millennials to the election of Donald Trump. In my opinion, Mark's words on this album are some of the most moving I've ever heard on a record; he just puts everything out there so gingerly, it's hard not to listen in wonderment as he goes off on tirades about serial murders or how he may outlive his younger brother.
Common As Light is a stunning album. Yes, it can be rather obtuse and if you're looking for a nice singer-songwriter album to put on and listen to at the coffee shop, you're going to be disappointed. But, if you're patient, and listen carefully to what is being said here, I think you'll discover just how wonderfully deep and personal this LP is, and hey, there's even some fantastic MUSIC here too. Again, just like the way the lyrics are delivered, the music here is very loose when it comes to structure and genre; sometimes the album sounds like something you'd expect from Sun Kil Moon, other times it almost sounds like some kind of mutant version of hip-hop, with Mark doing a fine pseudo-rap on top of it.
This album is a class act all the way around, and while there is certainly more I could say, I'll leave it at this; Common As Light is one of the most ambitious and stunning albums I've ever listened to, and you should give it a listen.
10/10
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