| Down Colorful Hill | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 14, 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1989–1991 | |||
| Genre | Slowcore | |||
| Length | 43:35 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Producer | Mark Kozelek | |||
| Red House Painters chronology | ||||
| ||||
Down Colorful Hill is the debut studio album by American slowcore band Red House Painters, released on September 14, 1992 by the record label 4AD.
As was done with the debuts of previous 4AD artists like Pixies, Lush, and His Name Is Alive, the album is made up of demos that were slightly remixed for general release. In Martin Aston's book Facing the Other Way: The Story of 4AD, Mark Kozelek expressed regret over the reverb- and echo-heavy mixing techniques he employed. The song "Waterkill", which dates from the same sessions but not included here, later appeared on the compilation Retrospective in un-remixed form, giving listeners an idea of the original demos' rawer sound.
A music video was produced for the song "24", directed by Mark Taylor.
The cover artwork for Down Colorful Hill is by Welsh photographer Simon Larbalestier entitled "Bed".
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B− [2] |
| Pitchfork | 8.2/10 [3] |
| Q |  [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
| Select | 4/5 [6] |
Down Colorful Hill has generally been well received by critics.
AllMusic wrote "the group has already reached full maturity; these lengthy, ponderous songs are remarkably evocative portraits of a distinctly tortured psyche – Mark Kozelek forgoes the camouflage of metaphor to lay his soul on the line, and the honesty of his craft is both beautiful and disturbing". [1] Stereogum wrote in a 2012 article that the album "sounds dated and immature; the work of a nascent artist who didn't trust his own voice, didn't know his way around a studio and wasn't entirely confident on the guitar. [...] But good lord, what an album." [7]
All tracks are written by Mark Kozelek.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "24" | 6:47 |
| 2. | "Medicine Bottle" | 9:49 |
| 3. | "Down Colorful Hill" | 10:51 |
| 4. | "Japanese to English" | 4:42 |
| 5. | "Lord Kill the Pain" | 6:03 |
| 6. | "Michael" | 5:23 |
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | September 14, 1992 | 4AD | CD (first pressings came in a digipak sleeve) | CAD 2014 CD |
| LP | CAD 2014 | |||
| July 6, 1998 | CD (reissue) | GAD 2014 CD | ||
| United States | September 15, 1992 | Warner Bros. Records | CD | 9 45062-2 |
| November 2, 1999 | 4AD | CD (reissue) | GAD 2014 CD |
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Red House Painters were an American rock band, formed in San Francisco, California in 1988. They were one of the most prominent acts associated with the slowcore/sadcore subgenre. Fronted by primary songwriter Mark Kozelek, the band also included drummer Anthony Koutsos and bass guitarist Jerry Vessel. Guitarists Gorden Mack and Phil Carney both performed with the band during separate six-year tenures.
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Jesu / Sun Kil Moon is a collaborative studio album by American indie folk act Sun Kil Moon and British experimental act Jesu, released on January 21, 2016 on Caldo Verde Records and Rough Trade. The album also features guest musicians Will Oldham, members of Low, Rachel Goswell of Slowdive, and Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse. Jesu and Sun Kil Moon including drummer Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth played six shows in February and March 2016 to support the album.
Yellow Kitchen is a collaboration album between American musician and singer Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon and Sean Yeaton, bassist of Parquet Courts, released on June 30, 2017 by Caldo Verde Records, though available for streaming shortly prior to that. Kozelek and Yeaton met at a Dutch festival in summer 2016, and recorded and self-produced Yellow Kitchen from December 2016 to May 2017 in the United States. Guest appearances on the album include Steve Shelley and Jim White on drums and Holly Throsby and Will Oldham on vocals.
