Sun Kil Moon

Launched in San Francisco in 2002 by Mark Kozelek after the end of Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon initially continued a songwriting approach rooted in slowcore and folk rock, with slow, spare and highly narrative songs. The project takes its name from South Korean boxer Sung-Kil Moon and established itself with Ghosts of the Great Highway in 2003, then with Tiny Cities in 2005 — an album built around Modest Mouse covers — and April in 2008. Over the years Sun Kil Moon evolved toward a more acoustic, direct expression, evident on Admiral Fell Promises (2010), and then toward a kind of spoken-sung chronicle in which everyday life, memory and autobiographical detail play a larger role, notably on Among the Leaves (2012) and Benji (2014). This direction continued on Universal Themes (2015) and Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood (2017), with songs freer in their construction. Sun Kil Moon has since moved between the indie, folk and alternative scenes, solo or with accompanying musicians, and has also resulted in occasional collaborations, notably with Jesu.