Yellow Kitchen
Yellow Kitchen | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by Mark Kozelek & Sean Yeaton | ||||
Released | June 30, 2017 | |||
Recorded | December 2016–May 2017, Pennsylvania and California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:16 | |||
Label | Caldo Verde | |||
Producer |
| |||
Mark Kozelek chronology | ||||
|
Yellow Kitchen is a collaboration album between American musician and singer Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon and Sean Yeaton, bassist of Parquet Courts, released on June 30, 2017 by Caldo Verde Records,[3] though available for streaming shortly prior to that. Kozelek and Yeaton met at a Dutch festival in summer 2016, and recorded and self-produced Yellow Kitchen from December 2016 to May 2017 in the United States. Guest appearances on the album include Steve Shelley and Jim White on drums and Holly Throsby and Will Oldham (Bonnie "Prince" Billy) on vocals.
The album develops upon Kozelek's
Recording
While Mark Kozelek won critical acclaim with his band Sun Kil Moon's sixth album Benji (2014),[4] on his subsequent projects, he moved towards a more esoteric and "almost Knausgårdian [lyrical and vocal] style, including long, detailed, half-sung, half-spoken descriptions of everything that he did and thought in a given span."[5] Kozelek met Parquet Courts bassist and electronic musician Sean Yeaton in summer 2016 at a musical festival in the Netherlands, forming a friendship which led to the recording of Yellow Kitchen,[6] which was recorded between December 2016 and May 2017 in Pennsylvania and California.[6] The duo self-produced the album, while Kozelek wrote and sang the lyrics while Yeaton created the music,[7]
The album features guest appearances from Jim White, ex-Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley, Holly Throsby and Will Oldham (Bonnie "Prince" Billy).[8] Shelley plays drums on "No Christmas Like This" while White plays drums on "Daffodils", while vocals are contributed by Throsby on "Time to Destination" and Oldham on "The Reasons I Love You".[7] Yellow Kitchen is Kozelek's fourth release of 2017, following Sun Kil Moon's Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood, his solo Night Talks EP, and 30 Seconds to the Decline of Planet Earth, a collaboration between Sun Kil Moon and Jesu.[9]
Music and lyrics
"Kozelek does “sing” on a few tracks overtop of some light woodwinds, or quietly mixed guitars and drums, but it’s hardly in a conventionally musical manner. The music is somewhat sparse, but experimental, and often goes in several different directions over the course of a single track."
—Liam Prost,
Written and spoken by Kozelek and
Musically, Yellow Kitchen is abstract and cold in tone, as well as more
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Mark_Kozelek_2014.jpg/180px-Mark_Kozelek_2014.jpg)
In the opening song, "Time to Destination", Kozelek speaks harshly of the
Kozelek recalls his
Considered by critics to be the most accessible track on the album,[2] "The Reasons I Love You" is a sparse love song Kozelek directs at his girlfriend Caroline,[13] its musical accompaniment including a kettle whistle, click track and acoustic guitar riff.[10] The 12-minute "Daffodils" is an electronica track with a beat that has been compared to Kanye West's Yeezus.[11][5] It is initially piano-driven as Kozelek recalls an open-mic night, but develops into electronic textures as the recollection become more paranoid. According to Spectrum Culture, "[t]he oneiric quality is broken by the redemptive image of photographed daffodils and an exchange between himself and a departed loved one, possibly [Kozelek's ex-girlfriend] Katy, a lingering muse in Kozelek’s songwriting."[5]
Release and reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
BeatRoute Magazine | (favourable)[1] |
Spectrum Culture | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Yellow Kitchen was announced on May 2, 2017, initially with the release date of July 4.[14] As a preview of the album, "The Reasons I Love You" was released onto Caldo Verde Records' website on June 19, 2017,[13] the same day the album artwork and track listing were released and the release date of the album was brought forward.[15] The album cover, a pastel yellow square,[9] was designed by Brian Azer.[7] Towards the end of June 2017, the album became available to stream on Sun Kil Moon's website,[3] and Caldo Verde Records released the album shortly afterwards on June 30.[3] On August 3, a music video for "Daffodils" was released, in which Kozelek holds up numerous objects, including novels, albums, world currencies, a postcard, among many other things.[16]
The album received both positive and mixed reviews from music critics, who found it a continuation of Kozelek's recent musical endeavours. Liam Prost of
Paul Simpson of AllMusic rated the album three stars out of five, while also hailing it as an "Album Pick". With its length of 41 minutes, Simpson found the album "short and succinct" compared to Kozelek's other albums of original material, "which might come as a relief to some listeners," and writes that "even though the music is a bit more experimental, the effect is much the same. It's worth a listen if you enjoyed any of those releases, but otherwise it won't change your mind about Kozelek and the direction his music has taken."[10] Woody Delaney of The Student Playlist wrote that, while starkly different to Benji, "the main thing that the record proves is that he is a songwriter who truly walks to his own beat, and while some may consider it a weaker addition to his vast discography, it’s still a noteworthy deep-cut."[2] Earbuddy were more hostile, saying " these results are so pitiful that you wonder if this is all some mean-spirited joke on the listener."[17]
Track listing
All songs written by Mark Kozelek
- "Time to Destination" – 6:06
- "No Christmas Like This" – 7:29
- "I'm Still in Love with You" – 4:49
- "Somebody's Favourite Song" – 7:25
- "The Reasons I Love You" – 3:28
- "Daffodils" – 11:59
Personnel
- Brian Azer – sleeve design
- Jim White – drums (track 6)
- Steve Shelley – drums (track 2)
- Nathan Winter – mixing, recording
- Sean Yeaton – music, co-production, recording
- Mark Kozelek – photography, co-production, lyrics, vocals
- Adam Cox – recording
- Charlie Beuter – recording
- Will Chason – recording
- Holly Throsby – additional voice (track 1)
- Will Oldham – additional voice (track 5)
References
- ^ a b c d e Prost, Liam (August 19, 2017). "Mark Kozelek & Sean Yeaton – Yellow Kitchen". BeatRoute. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Delaney, Woody (July 11, 2017). "REVIEW: Mark Kozelek & Sean Yeaton – 'Yellow Kitchen' (Caldo Verde)". The Student Playlist. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Helman, Peter (June 26, 2017). "Stream Mark Kozelek & Sean Yeaton Yellow Kitchen". Stereogum. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ "Reviews for Benji by Sun Kil Moon". Metacritic. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g Montanari, Dylan (July 16, 2017). "Mark Kozelek and Sean Yeaton: Yellow Kitchen". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ a b Pearis, Bill (June 19, 2017). "Mark Kozelek preps LP w/ Sean Yeaton of Parquet Courts & another LP for October". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ a b c Yellow Kitchen (liner). Mark Kozelek & Sean Yeaton. Caldo Verde Records. 2017.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Murphy, Sarah (June 26, 2017). "Mark Kozelek & Sean Yeaton 'Yellow Kitchen' (album stream)". Exclaim. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ a b Strauss, Matthew (May 2, 2017). "Mark Kozelek and Parquet Courts' Sean Yeaton Announce New Album Yellow Kitchen". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, Paul (2017). "AllMusic Review by Paul Simpson". AllMusic. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Mark Kozelek and Sean Yeaton – Yellow Kitchen – Album Review". No More Work Horse. June 30, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Penczak, Jeff (July 5, 2017). "MARK KOZELEK & SEAN YEATON - YELLOW KITCHEN". Soundblab. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ a b Geslani, Michelle (June 19, 2017). "Mark Kozelek and Parquet Courts' Sean Yeaton share new, collaborative song "The Reasons I Love You" — listen". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ Day, Laurence (May 3, 2017). "Mark Kozelek releasing new record Yellow Kitchen with Parquet Courts' Sean Yeaton". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ Slingerland, Calum (June 19, 2017). "Mark Kozelek & Sean Yeaton Detail 'Yellow Kitchen' LP". Exclaim. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ Eisinger, Dale (August 4, 2017). "A List of Things Mark Kozelek Holds Up In His "Daffodils" Video With Sean Yeaton". Spin. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ Alexander, Tom (13 July 2017). "Mark Kozelek & Sean Young – Yellow Kitchen Review". Earbuddy. Retrieved September 18, 2017.