I feel like it's been a while since a Sun Kil Moon song has begun with a cymbal smack. "Ben's My Friend," the closing track from SKM's upcoming album Benji, features more of leader Mark Kozelek's ever-quickening lyrical delivery, detailing an intricate story that starts with a conversation between he and his girlfriend, and ends up discussing his relationship with Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard (before they got big). It is all very matter of act and dryly funny (the repetition of the phrase "sports bar shit" is one of my favorite moments), and features some lovely sax and flamenco guitar, as well as some almost-confusingly double-tracked vocals.
Stream above, and keep an eye out for Benji released February 4 via Caldo Verde.