Mark Kozelek will remain productive virtually unfiltered in 2023. But while the relay of own singles recently took a qualitative downward trend, the inserted cover works Runaround now quite refreshingly carefree again.
Kozelek in This is my Town about the decision to devote oneself to a foreign composition: “I asked Abbie about a band from Sacramento. She’d given me their CD, way back, which I lost track of. There was a song on the album I loved, but the name of the song was lost on me. She immediately knew who I was talking about and found the song on her phone. The song is called „Runaround“ by Holiday Flyer. I’ll be covering the song, soon. I remember listening to that song on repeat back in the day when music excited me.„
Holiday Flyer have Runaround 1995 on their debut album Try Not to Worry recorded – in the original it is a wonderfully charming, floating indie song leaning back in its catchy melody with sparsely used drums under the pounding, in the chorus of which John Conley accompanies his sister and lead voice Katie: what a cute, unspectacular gem of a song!
Kozelek seamlessly translates it into his own trademarks, making do with vocals, guitar and the melancholic space around it. He accompanies himself in the chorus as a chorus – which is at least surprising given the female nature of Raging Bull’s Jaw, Nervous to Fly and Black Perch, Runaround shortens in the right places to keep the number compact even in minimalism, and steers in addition, the spotlight also draws attention to the text with reproachful lethargy in intonation: “I wonder what a friendship means to you/ If you don’t want me to be seen with you/ In front of your friend/ Cause that’s how a friendship ends.“
That probably also fits with the current status quo of Kozelek – and makes a difference Runaround nevertheless above all a carefree footnote in the work of Sun Kil Moon.
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