April
Sun Kil Moon
Caldo Verde Records
Four stars

Overrated as ever, Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters) once again offers up a way-too-long batch of songs with fleeting moments of bloody heart brilliance that, while sometimes fall-to-the-ground beautiful, can only be listened to in zoned-out doses. The vibe throughout is usually mellow, steadily folky and organic, sometimes classic and always breathy, tender and overwhelmingly emotional. Lost in the excess as they may be, the many moments of beauty on April, Sun Kil Moon’s second album of originals, are priceless. The result is a more ambitious — but not nearly as listenable — update of Sun Kil’s classic debut, Ghosts of the Great Highway.

Sounds like: American Music Club, Red House Painters