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Kozelek's rich voice has never sounded better here and the musicianship is excellent throughout. The lyrics, often intensely personal on tracks like `Katy Song' and `Grace Cathedral Park', describe the acute pain of failed relationships but also evoke a sepia-tinged nostalgia on songs such as the gorgeously wistful `Rollercoaster'.
All of those songs just mentioned are amongst the finest in RHP's canon, but there are many more beauties here, like the lovely `Things Mean a Lot' and the acoustic `Take Me Out'.
The highly personal nature of Kozelek's songwriting probably makes a surfeit of self-indulgence inevitable, but do we really need two versions of `Mistress' (fine song though it is)? Also, I defy any RHP fan not to admit that `Funhouse' is painfully turgid.
Minor criticisms though, in the context of the record overall, which I loved as a callow youth upon its release and still really enjoy now.
But I'm mostly in the mood, so it's not a problem. This album fits right in with such releases as Low's Secret Name, Ride's Nowhere, Madder Rose's Bring it Down, Jeff Buckley's Grace,the more morose parts of The Cure's Wish, anything by Nick Drake or Mark Eitzel...
This is the album bombastic miserablism like Dog Man Star & A Northern Soul is trying to be- the version of New Jersey is more acoustic, the band-version found on the 8-track eponymous album of the same year (this alternate take thing is evident also with Mistress & can be seen to be imitated by Radiohead on their recent Kid A/mnesiac albums). The most perfect song for me is Down Through- the missing link between Nick Drake & Galaxie 500- Mark Kozelek's voice is perfect wrapped around this gorgeous acoutic lull (think REM's Fretless or AMC's Jesus' Hands).
There are other perfect songs- Grace Cathedral Park, Katy Song & Rollercoaster sounding like early Ride on downers playing a Led Zep song. It's sparse, enchanting material. For anyone who has fallen for the joys of Jeff Buckley's Grace, a song like Dragonflies is easily as strong as his version of Hallelujah or a track like So Real. This song almost sees RHP rock out; well, almost...
Red House Painters also has one of those brilliant 4AD covers, a dreamlike image of a rollercoaster reminding me of the one Major Giuliani tore down in Long Island & films like Annie Hall (1977). This is mood music of the finest order- something needed more than ever in these days of mediocrity like Coldplay & Turin Brakes...
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