Kurt Vile
B'lieve I'm Goin Down ...
Matador Records
Four years on from his fourth (and breakthrough) solo album, Smoke Ring For My Halo, the former frontman with fellow Philadelphians The War On Drugs continues his slow amble towards indie rock's pantheon of greats with album number six and a more intimate suite of songs than on previous outings.
Vile is often billed as the heir to Neil Young and Tom Petty, though the late Elliot Smith might be closer to the mark and lines like "I hang-glide into the valley of ashes", on That's Life Tho (Almost Hate To Say), also recall Bill Callahan at his most bleakly whimsical. That said, B'lieve I'm Goin Down ... comes with an effusive endorsement from Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, one of indie's most venerated outriders, and features contributions from Jenny Lee Lindberg and Stella Mozgawa, one half of experimental LA band Warpaint.
Vile himself says he's aiming for the feel of a collection of songs recorded and performed from the depths of his sofa, and mostly that's what he delivers. Everything sounds close-miked, the percussion is mostly spare, snare-and-hi-hat stuff and it's only on opener Pretty Pimpin that he and his helpmates allow themselves to get anything like a groove on. Literate Americana at its finest.
Barry Didcock
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