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Premieres

Mark Kozelek Drifts Down ‘Moon River’ With Lovely New Cover

If your guard is up upon seeing a headline about Mark Kozelek covering a traditional pop song, it’d be hard to blame you — the albums and press cycles of the last two years have resulted in Kozelek’s name being more associated with long, free-associative confessionals and moments of extreme provocation, both on- and off-record. But don’t forget, this is the same guy who made such Top 40 classics as Simon & Garfunkel’s “I Am a Rock” and Genesis’ “Follow You Follow Me” his own back in his Red House Painters days, focusing on the simple melodies and yearning vocals.

Now, Kozelek has done the same with “Moon River,” the Henry Mancini-written standard first performed by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. His take is a distinctly late-night one, just piano and weathered crooning scraping the very upper registers of his range, in that golden area where Kozelek’s voice always sounds like it’s about to crack but never does. It’s a gorgeous rendition of a virtually un-ruinable song, and it sets the bar high for the rest of the upcoming Mark Kozelek Sings Favorites — featuring covers of 10cc, Bob Seger, and Modest Mouse, and with guest vocals from Mike Patton, Minine Driver, Rachel Goswell, and more — out May 27 on Caldo Verde.

Listen here, and check out tour dates for Kozelek solo and Sun Kil Moon below.

Mark Kozelek tour dates:

October 1 – Rapid City, SD @ The Garage

Sun Kil Moon tour dates:

November 7 — Hamden CT The Ballroom of Outer Space

Sun Kil Moon (with Steve Shelley on drums):

June 10 – Denmark @ Heartland Festival
June 12 – Bergen, NO @ Landmark
June 13 – Trondheim, NO @ Blaest
June 14 – Stavanger, NO @ Folken Main Hall with LOW
June 16 – Berlin, GE @ Heimathafen
June 17 – Prague, CZ Republic @ Lucerna Music Bar
June 19 – Co. Westmeath, IE @ Body and Soul Festival
June 21 – Glasgow, UK @ St Lukes Church
June 22 – Newcastle, UK @ Tyne Theatre
June 24 – Holland @ Down the Rabbit Hole Festival
June 25 – Holland @ Naked Song Festival
July 8 – Lisboa, Portugal @ Musicbox
July 9 – Porto, Portugal @ Hard Club
July 11 – Zürich, CH @ Plaza
July 12 – Bern, CH @ Dachstock
July 13 – Padova, IT @ Anfiteatro del Venda
July 14 – Milan, IT @ Magnolia
July 15 – Bologna, IT @ il Cortile del Covo
July 17 – Antwerp, BE @ OLT
July 19 – Birmingham, UK @ Glee Club
July 20 – Manchester, UK @ RNCM
July 22 – London, UK @ Royal Festival Hall

Jesu/Sun Kil Moon tour dates:

September 16 – Bristol @ Carlston Hall
September 20 – Holland @ Muziekgebouw
September 21 – Reims La @ Cartonnerie
September 22 – Metz @ Les Trinitaires
September 24 – Poland @ Asymmetry Festival
November 9 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
November 10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
November 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ TLA
November 13 – Chicago, IL @ The Park West
November 15 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
November 17 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent
November 18 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
November 19 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre