Tiny Cities
by Sun Kil Moon
User Score
7.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 24 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 24
  3. Negative: 4 out of 24

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  1. GeoffD
    Nov 9, 2005
    9
    Beautiful! An album like this makes me appreciate Modest Mouse even more. I always assumed MM was brooding but in actuality, the lyrics are quite heartfelt.
  2. BobS
    Nov 10, 2005
    8
    A very good interpretation of Modest Mouse songs but it is too short and leaves the feeling of being unsaitsfied at the end. Its the album equivalent of Lost in Translation
  3. ChrisJ
    Nov 8, 2005
    10
    Critics who are going to look at this album as Modest Mouse covers are going to miss the point. This is the same kind of album as Wilco/Billy Bragg's Mermaid Ave. These are Kozelek's interpretation of Modest Mouse lyrics. These are solid songs, and fans of Sun Kil Moon and Kozelek will love them, fans of Modest Mouse and Sun Kil Moon will adore it!!!
  4. MrJones
    Jan 24, 2006
    9
    Classic Kozelek style. This is a fantastic album if you havent heard too much Modest Mouse.
  5. JayS.
    Apr 9, 2008
    10
    B-e-a-utiful. I can't believe some of the reviews I've read for this album. Having just listened to it again I can only think they had socks in their ears. By the way I haven't heard the originals and will now check them out.
  6. BillB
    Dec 3, 2005
    9
    You've got to give Mark credit for completely reinventing these songs. "Tiny Cities" does exactly what an album of covers should do. Now, he just needs to put out another album of original stuff.
  7. H.Young
    Nov 14, 2005
    7
    Excellent production and performances, but there's too much of a good thing coming through too clear. Modest Mouse's lyics, buried under layers of fractured noise, come across as one aspect of a larger whole in that context, as a secret you can let yourself in on or not. But in this new covers record, they are featured. They deserve to be featured; they're beautiful. But Excellent production and performances, but there's too much of a good thing coming through too clear. Modest Mouse's lyics, buried under layers of fractured noise, come across as one aspect of a larger whole in that context, as a secret you can let yourself in on or not. But in this new covers record, they are featured. They deserve to be featured; they're beautiful. But there's not enough breathing room on the disc for all these heavy hitting songs to sit so close to each other. Where's the 3 minute musical segue? Where's the drastic variation from the original melody that makes it completely unrecognizable? Where's the sham that allows the secret? That said, I have already been caught listening to Sun Kil Moon's Ocean Breathes Salty on repeat, and maybe, through the multiple repeat listens that *will* occur, I will learn to enjoy this album as much as Ghosts of the Great Highway. But maybe not. Brought so much closer to the core of these intense songs, I find myself looking for the SPF 50.… Expand
  8. Brendan"EagleEye"W
    Nov 8, 2005
    10
    This is really good. Mark has reworked the songs and they have a very nice relaxingness to them. I like them.
  9. jonj
    Dec 29, 2005
    9
    hate modest mouse and not that keen on RHP, but in this album - through two months of continuous play - have found a deep if fractious view on the world. It ain't pretty but it sure it great.
  10. MichaelM
    Dec 6, 2005
    8
    I'd prefer an album of originals, but anything from Kozelek is pure gold as far as I'm concerned.
  11. James
    Dec 30, 2007
    8
    I like Modest Mouse and I've liked a lot of what Kozelek has done, both with SKM and RHP, and I really like this album. The first few spins were colored by the overwhelmingly negative reviews, but once I was able to hear the album for itself, it presented itself as a terrific set of songs. The Modest Mouse versions of these songs are useless as points of comparison...they have as I like Modest Mouse and I've liked a lot of what Kozelek has done, both with SKM and RHP, and I really like this album. The first few spins were colored by the overwhelmingly negative reviews, but once I was able to hear the album for itself, it presented itself as a terrific set of songs. The Modest Mouse versions of these songs are useless as points of comparison...they have as little to do with these versions as The Dirty Projectors' most recent album has to do with Black Flag.… Expand
  12. JohanS
    Nov 15, 2005
    8
    Mark Kozelek is one of the most underestimated artists of all time.
  13. KurtG
    Nov 28, 2005
    9
    While not beating Ghost of the Great Highway by any means, Kozolek's smooth vocals and beautiful guitar help to shed a brand new light onto these songs. A very niuce listen...

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
64

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 19
  3. Negative: 1 out of 19
  1. Billboard
    90
    Flecked at every turn with Kozelek's unique interpretive bent, "Tiny Cities" is a triumph.
  2. Stylus Magazine
    58
    Even with Kozelek's laudable work on this outing I feel that something more robust could have emerged had the roots been original.
    Read full review
  3. Under The Radar
    70
    A large part... of a Mark Kozelek song is the arrangement.... In that sense, Tiny Cities is a collection of perfect Mark Kozelek songs. [#11, p.108]
See all critic reviews »