Down Colorful Hill

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".

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/down-colorful-hill-mw0000086205 |title=Down Colorful Hill – Red House Painters |publisher=AllMusic |accessdate=December 5, 2014 |last=Ankeny |first=Jason}}

| rev2 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev2score = B−{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/1992/11/27/down-colorful-hill/ |title=Down Colorful Hill |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=November 27, 1992 |access-date=December 5, 2014 |last=Berger |first=Arion}}

| rev3 = Pitchfork

| rev3score = 8.2/10{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20517-box-set/ |title=Red House Painters: Box Set |work=Pitchfork |date=May 6, 2015 |accessdate=May 6, 2015 |last=Stosuy |first=Brandon}}

| rev4 = Q

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite journal |title=Master Strokes |journal=Q |issue=350 |date=September 2015 |last=Mason |first=Matt |pages=118–19}}

| rev5 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev5Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite book |chapter=Red House Painters |last=Seward |first=Scott |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |year=2004 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |edition=4th |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/682 682] }}

| rev6 = Select

| rev6Score = 4/5{{cite journal |title=Red House Painters: Down Colorful Hill |journal=Select |issue=28 |date=October 1992 |last=Morrison |first=Dave |page=78}}

}}

The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that "as glum and mournful as Kozelek's sentiments may be, there's a still, stark autumnal beauty that emerges over the course of this debut that's the pop equivalent of a chilly, fogbound English morning."{{cite news |last1=Wood |first1=Sam |title=Down Colorful Hill |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=Dec 1, 1992 |page=E1}}

AllMusic wrote that "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". 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."{{cite web |url=http://www.stereogum.com/1061652/counting-down-mark-kozelek/news/attachment/down-colorful-hill-by-red-house-painters_zsjd1_xxzhux_full/ |title=Mark Kozelek Albums from Worst to Best Red House Painters – Down Colorful Hill – Stereogum |last=Nelson |first=Michael |date=June 12, 2012 |work=Stereogum |accessdate=December 5, 2013}}

{{track listing

| all_writing = Mark Kozelek

| title1 = 24

| length1 = 6:47

| title2 = Medicine Bottle

| length2 = 9:49

| title3 = Down Colorful Hill

| length3 = 10:51

| title4 = Japanese to English

| length4 = 4:42

| title5 = Lord Kill the Pain

| length5 = 6:03

| title6 = Michael

| length6 = 5:23

}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Discogs master|4903}}

{{Red House Painters}}

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Category:Red House Painters albums

Category:1992 debut albums

Category:4AD albums

Category:Albums produced by Mark Kozelek