With his 2014 album
Benji, released under his long-standing
Sun Kil Moon moniker, something switched on in
Mark Kozelek that wouldn't switch off for years to follow. That album's stream-of-consciousness flow and detailed inspection of details of his personal and family life turned mundane events into spiritual epiphanies. It was an artistic turning point for
Kozelek that resulted in some of the most beautiful work in a huge catalog already rich with lush beauty. After that, however, he kinda ran wild with the concept of hyper-detailed, long-form songwriting, issuing new recordings under various banners multiple times a year.
2 is the second volume of songs made up of the trio of
Kozelek on guitar and vocals, drummer
Jim White, and keyboardist
Ben Boye, following an initial collaborative album in 2017. Though both
Boye and
White have accompanied
Kozelek on various
Sun Kil Moon and solo albums, there's something unique about this particular trio configuration.
Boye's piano clusters blur into
Kozelek's gentle nylon-string guitar tones to create impressionistic atmospheres, rooted by
White's minimal drumming. The instrumental components of each of the album's seven pieces are drifting and patient, switching quickly from long stretches of slow-moving beauty into waltz-timed dreaminess on "My Brother Loves Seagulls" or moving without notice from a jazzy amble into a more tense ending on "The Artist." The music is gorgeous, songs with average running times of around 11 minutes filling to the brim with
Kozelek's rambling lyrical zigzags. ~ Fred Thomas
![Midnights [Jade Green Edition] [Edited]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602448247032_p0_v3_s90x140.jpg "Midnights [Jade Green Edition] [Edited]")
