Labels: Matador
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Whilst Kurt Vile may sound like the name of some guy who was kicked out of a mid 90s pop punk band for arguing with his band mates over whether Screeching Weasel or the Queers were better, it turns out that Kurt Vile is an actual real name that it is not made up. Crazy times. Kurt Vile seems to be a versatile, productive chap. I think I gave previous effort “Constant Hitmaker” a cursory listen at some point, enjoyed it without being that blown away. This album is a bit of a step up although I can’t begin to tell you how as I can’t really remember “Constant Hitmaker”, and therefore you have in a nutshell the reason why I am writing short, dumb reviews for Collective Zine instead of a website that actually has readers and where the average review is longer than a trip to the moon in a canoe.
Kurt Vile slides through this album in a number of styles. Things lurch out of the gate in a lumpy, blues guitar soaked rocker, all fuzzed riffs and distorted vocals, but as this is on Matador you will probably already realise that the production is several notches above your generic lo-fi garage band. “Hunchback” is a really fine start to the LP, and a good taster for what’s to come. This is followed with “Dead Alive”, where things are stripped down to Vile and a guitar or two, Vile drawls like a freaked out and stoned Springsteen over the top for over 3 minutes before it comes to an abrupt stop. Appropriately enough, “Freak Train” is the track where this slightly ridiculous thought actually makes the most sense, grooving for 7 minutes amidst guitars, electronic fuzzy headedness and Vile bellowing “WHERE’S ME FOOKIN WHISKEY” (well, he may as well be). The album is a bit pretentious in places, e.g. on “Overnite Religion” it kicks in really quietly and then the volume suddenly jumps mid note. What am I supposed to think there, the producer accidentally just recorded it like that and put it on the album thinking no-one would notice? Jeez. Anyway, it’s another good song, blissed out and dream pop, coming on like something off that Manitoba album which I liked a few years ago. 3 tracks in, you’ve got Vile nailed. Kinda. This album is all about multifarious jams, almost all of them sounding like drugs could have been involved (either that or equally plausible is that Vile is just naturally slothful), but Vile also a keen sense of how to pen a tune that actually goes somewhere, even if it meanders all over the place on the way. He simply gets there in the end. Cool LP.