I Also Want To Die In New Orleans (studio album) by Sun Kil Moon

Got to around halfway then had to stop. I know lots of people like the way Mark has gone over the years, but I preferred the more structured moments from his earlier career - not for me

Mark Kozelek. My favorite artist of the last years. People constantly criticize Mark Kozelek but the guy has released more good music than 99% of people who have been doing it since the beginning of the decade. The title of the album is inspired by hip-hop crew $uicidboy$. It's true that is not the best Mark Kozelek album but "I Also Want To Die In New Orleans" is a rather successful album. With jazzy instrumentals of the New Orleans really good, Mark Kozelek tells us his personal and social stories. I took some time to enjoy this album but now I appreciate it.

7/10

Best track: "L-48"

From LedZep 03/09/2019 15:28

Bay of Kotor is a masterpiece, and the album's very good.

From Anti 03/01/2019 18:27

Yeah, there is a massive improvement in the instrumentals and story telling that makes I Also Want To Die In New Orleans better than Mark's 2018 releases. I was kind of concerned seeing the length of the album that it would be a repeat of This Is My Dinner, but I'm glad it's just an all around better album.

We all know the deal with Sun Kil Moon albums now. The folk rock of the 00s is pretty much completely gone now and the conversational tone of 'Benji' has taken over. It's a polarising creative decision but I love it. The lyrics across 'I Also Want To Die In New Orleans' are absolutely brilliant and are backed up by great instrumentals.

'Coyote' and 'Day in America' brilliantly express the experience of the combination of various stresses as a result of strains in relationships, a 24 hour cycle of constant bad news and the mundanity of everyday life. It's the last of these that sets Mark Kozelek's work apart from others who tackle similar emotions. The long story about a skunk in 'Coyote' shows that even though there are important and horrible things going on, the unimportant stuff still goes on and on, and can drag just as much. 'Day in America' has an especially raw feel to it as far as the lyrics go. I remember when it came out after the Parkland shooting and the lyrics still hit with the same intensity in how unfiltered they are. I could try and take some kind of a moral high ground by criticising Mark's vocal opinions on what should be done to the shooter but it's so honestly put and I just don't believe that most people don't feel the same way in the initial rage that these events create. Again, amongst all the serious sentiments expressed on the track there's still space for a long conversation on jazz pianist Bill Evans and the bad associations Mark has with Bob Evans and as out of this place as this sounds it comes across just as honest as everything else on the track. It completely achieves the feel of having a dark atmosphere hanging over a regular conversation.

We get a flexitarian anthem in 'Cows'. Stream of consciousness lyricism gets discussed a lot but I think it's tracks like this that hold most honestly to that concept. There isn't a clear direction of where the track's going but that's not the point, instead it builds a picture of Mark himself by drawing on his own opinions and memories. 'I'm Not Laughing At You' uses a storytelling narrative to do the same, this time expressing opinions of America and the duality of the feelings that many have towards it. It's hard to build a definitive opinion on a nation that simultaneously gives us massive cultural achievements and technical advances, as well as heaps of stupidity and violence. 'Couch Potato' follows this up with a more contemporary take on American society and politics, and the flaws in both.

23 minute closer 'Bay of Kotor' goes more firmly back into storytelling. It details a trip to Montenegro and involves an attempt to save some stray kittens and numerous conversations with a maid at the hotel he's staying at. It contains the most impactful commentary you will find on the album and is the most rewarding of the tracks here.

The instrumentals thread the parts of the album together often marking changes in time, tone or place, and are the best on any Sun Kil Moon album since 'Benji'. To fully appreciate the record you have to be willing to work with Mark's self indulgences, but if you get there you'll be able to feel the full emotional impact of it. 'I Also Want To Die In New Orleans' shows us that alongside horrible times there are mundane times, boring times, moments of connection, moments of misunderstanding and moments of isolation but none of these moments are useless or unimportant. To prove the point Mark Kozelek has given us this brilliant and very human album drawing on all these experiences.