Kurt Vile – b’lieve i’m goin down

With everyone turning to computer-programmed instruments as music’s saving grace, it is very rare to see a folk-rock singer-songwriter develop any amount of buzz in 2015 quite like Kurt Vile.

As an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Vile began his career with lo-fi acoustic home recordings.  Since his 2008 debut Wagonwheel Blues, Vile has edged away from his lo-fi folk music to more grand-sounding, classic rock. His album, 2013’s Waking on a Pretty Daze, solidified Vile as a great contemporary singer-songwriter, with epic tracks that put him on near the top of many lists for “Albums of the Year” as “Girl Called Alex” and the title track.

Released on September 25th, b’lieve i’m going down is Vile’s sixth and latest full-length album. While he didn’t have much to prove to anyone going into this record, the album presents itself as a pleasant addition to Vile’s work.

The first taste of the album is the track, “Pretty Pimpin’”. This is a quite enjoyable track of jangly guitars, a firm-standing bass-drum rhythm section and a singer-songwriter questioning who is he and the life he lives; What Vile does best.

“All I wanted to do was just have fun/live my life like a son of a gun” sings a relaxed Kurt Vile on the five-minute groove.

Lyrically, I am happy to see Vile has not edged away from his mumbly, “questioning-but-not-questioning-life”-self. He doesn’t know all the answers but this doesn’t stop him from talking about large philosophical ideologies. On many of the tracks, this humble attitude is showcased in the wake of very large existential themes.

This album, while still feeling like a Kurt Vile record, also expands outside his trademark class rock guitar sound. The song “Lost My Head There” starts out sounding more like a passable Ben Folds song more than anything with a grand piano . However, I was smart not to lose faith as the song subtly opens up into a heavily reverberated jam on piano and vibraphone. Moments like this show a more exploratory side to Vile. While I can admit that I prefer his guitar over the grand piano, it is still better than most folk rock out there with its more expansive instrumentation and honest lyrics that don’t sound like a cliché.

As the rather simplistic artwork of the album exemplifies, Kurt Vile is a man who plays guitar for you. Quite honestly, one of my favourite tracks on this album come from Vile just being open about life and jamming on a guitar. “All in a Daze Work,” featuring just vocals and a guitar-picking rhythm, is a standout track on the album and is a great example of Vile’s ability to play off a groove to such lengths without every feeling long or forced. Many of the tracks on b’lieve i’m going down feel like we are just coming along for the ride with an old friend through its soft-sounding production and Vile’s down-to-earth persona. This makes it hard not to get lost in his music, even in the span of 5-6 minutes.

Overall, Vile seems to have a conscious decision about where he is headed as a songwriter. He knows how to write good guitar songs, and with b‘lieve i’m goin’ down,  it is clear he wanted to explore outside of this realm. While some of these exploratory songs  such as “Lost My Head There” may not be his best tracks instrumentally, Vile’s developed lyrics and themes, and great grooves make up for any shortcomings I have with the album.