Words by

Chris Sea

Chris Sea on why he'll be attending the Sun Kil Moon show this Friday

Sun Kil Moon, the notorious North Korean dictator, ordered the execution of a series of puffins by firing squad as an apparent snub to a cooling of Iceland-DPRK relations, reports KCNA. “They don’t belong on our plates”, said the DPRK’s Taskforce on the Creation of Food Abundance, apparently caught unawares by a certain irony.

Just kidding. Sun Kil Moon, real name Mark Kozelek, is playing Reykjavík this Friday. He has been in my memory since 2004, when my mother took my brother and I with her decades of savings to Greece on a family outing. At Paris – Charles De Gaulle airport, I picked up a copy of Uncut magazine, and in it was a CD (remember those, kids?) entitled Americana 2004. Among other great tracks such as “Western Skyline”  by Richmond Fontaine and “First Breath After Coma” by Explosions in the Sky was “Carry Me Ohio” by Sun Kil Moon…and it took my breath away.

The simplicity of the lyrics, the harrowing nature of Mark’s voice, and the simple-yet effective guitar solo confirmed within me a certain sense of the American homeland. In other words, Americana, Mission Accomplished.

Fast forward a few years and I’m living in Brooklyn, New York, and once again Mark is playing. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the event, but had I, I would have been at the top of my lungs, shouting for that older song to be played.

Mark’s music conveys the best of the American spirit, much in the way Timber Timbre harks back to that same territory – a sort of rustic romanticization of the US  that is palatable, tasteful and artful. Lest we forget as well that Mark’s voice is unforgettable and rich.

Fríkirkjan is the ideal setting for his work, as it was for Mark Lanegan’s. If you are in the mood for soulful, honest music, please discover Mark this Friday at said venue. I myself want to see how he has developed, as admittedly, and shamefully, I’ve lost track of his career. Perhaps you will end up feeling the way I did so many years ago. Attend!

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Chris Sea is a US-born musician and writer, currently living and working in Reykjavík, Iceland.
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At the time of writing, you can still find tickets for Friday’s show at Fríkirkjan. Get them here.