''Live at Biko'' is a live album by American singer-songwriter

Mark Kozelek Mark Edward Kozelek (born January 24, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and occasional actor. He is known as the vocalist and primary recording artist of the indie folk act Sun Kil Moon and founding member of ...

. It was released on July 1, 2014, through Kozelek's own record label

Caldo Verde Records Caldo Verde Records is a San Francisco-based indie rock and folk record label founded by Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon frontman Mark Kozelek in 2005. The label primarily features releases by Kozelek and Sun Kil Moon, but has also release ...

. The album was recorded on April 6, 2014 in Biko Club in

Milano Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It features live renditions of

Sun Kil Moon Sun Kil Moon is an American folk rock act from San Francisco, California, founded in 2002. Initially a continuation of the defunct indie rock band Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon is now the primary recording moniker of vocalist and guitarist M ...

tracks, as well as selections from Kozelek's respective 2013 collaborative albums with Jimmy LaValle and Desertshore, ''

Perils from the Sea ''Perils from the Sea'' is a collaborative studio album by American singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek and multi-instrumentalist Jimmy LaValle, released on April 30, 2013 on Caldo Verde Records. Background and recording On September 11, 2011, Sun K ...

'' (2013) and ''

Mark Kozelek & Desertshore ''Mark Kozelek & Desertshore'' is a collaborative studio album by American singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek and indie rock band Desertshore, released on August 20, 2013 on Caldo Verde Records. The album was Kozelek's third studio album of 2013. In 2 ...

'' (2013). The tracks "I Love My Dad" and "Tavoris Cloud" were recorded on April 4, 2014 at Circolo Degli Artisti in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy.''Live at Biko'' album liner notes

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''Live at Biko'' received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 80, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 6 reviews. Dan Caffrey of

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

wrote: "If you’re a Kozelek disciple, the songs on ''Live at Biko'' won’t give you further insight into the love, lust, humor, and sadness that make him tick, but the dialogue sure will." '' Paste'' magazine critic Mack Hayden stated that the album is "as communal as a set of campfire songs, complete with humor, screw-ups and familiarity." Stuart Berman of

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

noted: "''Live at Biko'' is quick to remind us that ''

Benji Benji is a fictional character created by Joe Camp. He has been the focus of several movies from 1974 through the 2000s. It is also the title of the first film in the ''Benji'' franchise. Benji is a small, lovable mixed-breed dog with an un ...

'' is as much a comedy as tragedy, at times forcefully so."

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

critic John Paul praised Kozelek's lyrics and storytelling, writing: "Thoroughly exhausting, but highly rewarding, Kozelek’s recent work is some of the most rewarding of his career, ''Live at Biko'' proving no exception."

Track listing

Personnel

– performance, production, photography * Nathan Winter – mixing * Et Cetera – graphic design

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2014 live albums Mark Kozelek albums Caldo Verde Records albums Albums produced by Mark Kozelek