Many cover songs are mere shadows of the original. Of course, some succeed wildly'sometimes the cover artist is better known for the song than the initial performer. Yet, just as many cover songs fall somewhere between 'passable but unnecessary' and 'unholy desecration.' Sun Kil Moon's Tiny Cities settles somewhere between those two extremes, depending on how attached the listener is to the Modest Mouse tracks being covered.
SKM's second album consists of 11 cover tracks, although only the lyrics remain. While lead singer Mark Kozelek'??the primary force behind this project'has undeniable talent, the project seems ill-advised. Kozelek singing Isaac Brock's lyrics against SKM's delicious, leisurely atmospherics rarely clicks, and it is baffling that no one paused to reconsider the entire concept.
'Tiny Cities Made of Ashes' from Modest Mouse's The Moon & Antarctica illustrates the entire problem. Modest Mouse's driving, funky bass line is stripped away in favor of mellow instrumentals. Kozelek floats his voice above, occasionally sing-songing his way to higher octaves. A song with lyrics like, 'gonna hit you on the face / gonna punch you in your glasses, oh no' should not be coated in molasses. It creates an eerie, frustrating disconnect between lyrics and delivery that at no point succeeds.
Similarly, album-closer 'Ocean Breathes Salty' drones on with none of the urgency or power of the original. SKM's songs tend to blur into one another'not necessarily a flaw, but it feels awkward when covering a band with as wide a tonal range as Modest Mouse.
Of course, that is not to say the album sounds bad, per se'Kozelek has a wonderful voice, and the band's instrumentals are very enjoyable. 'Space Travel is Boring' succeeds'the lyrics fit SKM's tone so well that it is easy to forget it is a cover. The tiny swells of strings and acoustic guitar are beautiful, each following Kozelek murmuring, 'I'm shot to the moon.'
'Neverending Math Equation' and 'Gray Ice Water' are also interesting tracks'although neither are too exciting. But those exceptions aside, Tiny Cities is peppered with moments that, instead of capturing attention, make the listener yearn for the song they remember. While the concept is an interesting one, the bands involved rarely fit one another.
Hopefully Kozelek and Sun Kil Moon will choose a better band to pay homage to for their next project'or, better yet, they will produce a true follow-up to their promising debut Ghost of the Great Highway.
