Six albums into his career, Kurt Vile has never been the sort of guy to attempt dramatic reinvention with each new release. While the Philadelphian songwriter is one of this decade’s most consistent performers, in Vile’s world things change merely by degrees.

For instance, compare his latest albumB’lieve I’m Goin Down…to its predecessor,Wakin On A Pretty Daze. There’s increased use of piano and the addition of banjo, the song lengths have been slightly culled and he’s even included some vocal harmonies. But if you were enamoured by his previous releases, it’s easy to get drawn in here. Once again the pace is generally steady, if not lackadaisical, and the lyrics seem off-the-cuff yet contain radiant insight, near-psychedelic imagery and more than a touch of humour.

However, notwithstanding that appraisal, the record’s first single ‘Pretty Pimpin’ was something of an unexpected return. Released in July, the song surprised listeners chiefly for how much it actually sounded like a single. An upbeat folk number rooted in a memorable chorus melody and a tongue-in-cheek vocal stance, ‘Pretty Pimpin’ could be the most concise pop song Vile has ever written.

“The single situation – I feel like, at least the last two records, I got deep into the heavier songs or something,” Vile says. “Heavy not as in heavy metal, but I got deep into the non-singles, and the singles seem to come later. But [‘Pretty Pimpin’] surprised me. Once I added the harmonies in there, it was all over.”

Lyrically, ‘Pretty Pimpin’ focuses on the difficulties faced in grasping one’s sense of self, and brings the humour that’s always been present in Vile’s lyrics to the fore. Many similarly anxious reflections crop up as the new album progresses, but they tend to be either sobering ruminations or cannons of absurdist imagery. As such, while‘Pretty Pimpin’ is a compelling way to begin the record, it’s not entirely indicative of what’s to come.

“I thought ‘Wheelhouse’, where else could you put it but in the beginning of the album? But, I mean, the label definitely wanted some kind of [single], which is not why I did it, but ideally you want some kind of song that’s like a legit single. And I wanted it, but it didn’t fall into that melancholy space-folky-blues thing that a lot of the record is. There’s nowhere else you could put ‘Pimpin’ but first, because if you put it somewhere else, it would sound insanely out of place.

“Then what I did was I put ‘Wheelhouse’ second and that just didn’t make sense whatsoever. But I didn’t know any better because ‘Wheelhouse’ is my favourite song, so I had to have outside people convince me to put ‘Wheelhouse’ further [down].”

On an album full of intriguing content,‘Wheelhouse’ is an enveloping standout. Led by a plucked electric guitar riff, it scatters an aroma of melancholy, while the sustained pillowy atmosphere prevents it reaching the point of despair. The overall impression becomes one of someone at peace with life’s ineradicable conflicts. Songs like the piano-led ‘Life Like This’ and the instrumental ‘Bad Omens’ convey a similar feeling.

“All those songs, that just feels like my heart right now, it just feels like my psyche – that’s my ideal place,” says Vile. “It’s meditative, it’s a little bit sad, it’s a little bit hopeful, it’s a little bit realistic. It’s a lot of feelings at once, like opposing feelings even, just like life in general. That’s how I feel right now; those are like my spiritual sound, or something.

“All three of those songs are moments captured in time, too. It wasn’t premeditated at all – they’re pretty new sketches. ‘Bad Omens’, I had that piano thing for a while, but it was an afterthought after we recorded ‘Lost My Head There’, which was the new jam. They were all just naturally captured moments, but all recorded in the wee hours and gone back into in the wee hours. So I just think they’re the realist things I have.”

Indeed, ‘Lost My Head There’ serves as the album centrepiece. The lyrics allude to the process that generates Vile’s songs: he starts off “Buggin’ out about a couple-two-three things,” before a song “walk[s] out” of him, culminating in “sweet relief”. Then, Vile and his studio band – drummer Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint), guitarist Farmer Dave Scher (Beachwood Sparks) and bass player Rob Laakso – spend the song’s final four minutes grooving on a basic repeating chord progression. Pop convention would advise against such a protracted coda, but it allows for a concrete demonstration of how relaxing and nourishing playing music can be.

“The second half is also an example of those other three songs we were talking about – just, like, feeling it in the moment and just fucking grooving,” says Vile. “We all did that live and then there was one round of overdubs for backing vocals, but the idea was we all did it at the same time again. You don’t just layer it, because that’s unnatural. If you just build a song up one track at a time, it’s cheating. I get a little bit more cynical now, because you could really just cheat and make a song perfect, or try to. But reacting off of each other live, that’s like real music. The least we can do is try to do it live and get some kind of spiritual release or something.”

On paper, Vile’s fifth LP,Wakin On A Pretty Daze,was a very ambitious release. The majority of the songs last between six and ten minutes, and generally revolve around one or two simple chord progressions. Despite this, it enjoyed worldwide success, elevating Vile to the top tier of indie rock artists. Perhaps encouraged by this success, he was eager to expand his textural palette.

“I had four outlets that I wanted to actively use. It felt really good to play banjo songs. It’s a really ethereal thing. I grew up playing banjo, and I would pick it up and I would get more lost than I would with the guitar. It’s got the high drone string, and I was writing certain songs like ‘I’m An Outlaw’, but I also had five other banjo songs that didn’t make the record. Then there’s the piano side of it, which comes from my influence of people like Randy Newman. I’d just been paying attention to the piano a lot in general ­– it’s not like I just picked it up, but I focused on it more. Then there was of course the acoustic folk thing that I’ve always had, but then there’s the electric guitar thing.

“My basic theory was like this spaced-out blues record and this sort of dreamy record. I said at one point I wanted it to be a modern version of an authentic folk record, but because it’s 2015, or whatever it is, today’s folk. It can be anything – it can be rock’n’roll and stuff, as long as you’re following the true roots. That was part of it. There’s all kinds of blues and folk references, and not all mapped out in this premeditated way, and just things that were important in my life or influence from certain books and music. There’s nods to all kinds.”

[Kurt Vile photo by Marina Chavez]

Kurt Vile and The Violators play at Falls Festival 2015/16, Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron Bay,Monday December 28 – Sunday January 3, and the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on Thursday January 7.B’lieve I’m Goin Down… isout now through Matador/Remote Control.

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