Among the Leaves | |||||
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Studio album by Sun Kil Moon | |||||
Released | May 29, 2012 | ||||
Recorded | October 2011 - January 2012 | ||||
Genre | Indie folk | ||||
Length | 73:20 | ||||
Language | English | ||||
Label | Caldo Verde | ||||
Producer | Mark Kozelek | ||||
Sun Kil Moon chronology | |||||
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Mark Kozelek chronology | |||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 72/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
The A.V. Club | B |
Consequence of Sound | C+ |
musicOMH | |
The Observer | |
PopMatters | 6/10 |
Paste | (6.1/10) |
Pitchfork | (6.8/10) |
Slant Magazine |
Among the Leaves is the fifth studio album by American indie folk act Sun Kil Moon, released on May 29, 2012 on Caldo Verde Records. Similar to Sun Kil Moon's previous studio album, Admiral Fell Promises (2010), the album is predominantly performed by founding member Mark Kozelek on a nylon-string guitar.
In 2013, Mark Kozelek released a live album recorded shortly after Among the Leaves' release, entitled Live at Phoenix Public House Melbourne.
The album was listed 41st on Stereogum's list of top 50 albums of 2012.
In a similar fashion to Sun Kil Moon's previous album, Admiral Fell Promises (2010), Among the Leaves was recorded primarily by founding member Mark Kozelek on a nylon string guitar, with the assistance of session musicians on certain tracks. Regarding his decision to continue recording alone, Kozelek noted, "Nylon string is still a new love and I'm not tired of it yet. Record sales are on their way out and I can't afford to make Dark Side of the Moon nor do I have the interest. I'm 45 and I don't have time to spend two years of my life bringing in producers and dragging the record around the planet. I'm always moving forward creatively and don't like stalling, trying to find the perfect snare drum sound."
Kozelek would record the album's songs quickly after writing them, noting, "I don't make demos. I don't have the interest or the energy or the time. Demos are something you do in the early stages of your career, but when you get going, you just go in and record the song. With this record, I wanted to give my first instincts a chance without shooting them down immediately, which I sometimes do. Songs like "Song For Richard Collopy" and "Not Much Rhymes With Everything's Awesome All the Time" were very impulsive, even my engineers were looking at me like, "What in the fuck are you doing?" And that's exactly the reaction I wanted. I didn't want to put myself, or anyone else, asleep with another quintessential Mark Kozelek album."