Red House Painters (Rollercoaster Album), Pioneer of “Slowcore”
Introduction
Okay, I have listened a couple of times to the Rollercoaster album, the debut album by Red House Painters, and I must say I’m completely mesmerized. But I’ve been saying that a lot about Mark Kozelek. He is a very hard-working and brave songwriter. By that I mean he dares to look deep inside himself and share very personal lyrics. His voice is very recognizable, very emotional. He has this ability to draw the audience to his songs, without seeming to try hard to please them. This makes him very authentic and it leaves much room for us to enjoy and experience his material.
Followers of the Nino & Bors Instagram account started to recommend Sun Kil Moon, which Mark Kozelek founded as well. They wanted us to perform a song from the album Ghosts of the Great Highway. We did “Glenn Tipton”, and later “Carry Me Ohio”. It took me a while to enjoy this music. Mainly, I used to listen to (folk) artists/bands from the ’40s to ’70s. I also love classical, rock, pop (sometimes), and underground music. But I’m quite particular and I find it hard to get to know new artists or genres, sticking to music I’m familiar with. Eventually, Sun Kil Moon became a revelation to me. Ghosts of the Great Highway is the best album I’ve heard in many years and now I’m getting to know Red House Painters too.
Red House Painters (a.k.a. Rollercoaster)
The Red House Painters (a.k.a. Rollercoaster) album is the second record by the band. A double album, a full CD, with a runtime of 75 minutes. It contains 14 songs, and I must say that listening to this album is a journey. I’m not going to go through every song. I really recommend you listen to it yourself. I want to share with you the experience.
What I really noticed was the hypnotic effect of some of the songs on this album. Mainly the longer ones like “Fun House”, “Mother” and the highlight of this record, “Katy Song”. The band repeats or develops a certain riff and melody numerous times. If you like it and it touches you, it can have a hypnotic effect and it makes the listener want to hear more and more. “Mother” lasts about 13 minutes, and still I wished it would go on for a while. Mark Kozelek is really the first artist who has that effect on me. It’s kind of like listening to Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs giving you verse after verse without it being boring. At least to me.
What is also crucial is the fact that this CD has got a great balance in songs. “Fun House”, “Mistress” and “Mother” are the more heavy songs with a lot of electric guitar. But then you get “Grace Cathedral Park”, “Rollercoaster”, “New Jersey” and “Brown Eyes” that feature a lot more acoustic guitar. They’re more mellow, maybe a bit prettier, and makes the whole experience comfortable as well. I love it when an album has got a lot of dimensions to it, variation let’s say. Like it’s a big box full of presents!
And not to mention the emotional depth of the lyrics. “Katy Song” has got a sadness and darkness to it that really makes my heart stop. It brings tears to my eyes and I can just feel the despair and sadness. I absolutely love that music has got this power. This really makes me admire Mark Kozelek. This because I know how difficult it is to write very personal songs. A songwriter can sometimes hide behind cryptic or political songs. But when Kozelek writes about his innermost feelings and emotions, the song becomes more powerful. Everybody can relate to it because we all experience very hard times. There are quite a few songs like that on this record.
I really recommend this CD, friends. In my opinion, it really comes close to perfection.