Red House Painters has always been
Mark Kozelek's project, but
Ocean Beach represents the first record that is almost entirely a solo project. Not that that distinction has made a great change in the music --
Ocean Beach is a spare, gentle, nearly painfully introspective folk-rock album that draws more from
Simon & Garfunkel than
Bob Dylan.
Kozelek reigns in the droning, experimental tendencies of the group's first full-length album, yet he is more generous with his melodies and arrangements than the band's second untitled record. While
Red House Painters remains very arty and self-conscious,
Ocean Beach shows the singer/songwriter breaking out of his shell ever so slightly, bringing more fully developed songs and melodies with him. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine