The latest record from Philadelphia’s heartland-rocking slacker-dude Kurt Vile is certainly unfettered by commercial norms. Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze, Vile’s fifth record, comprises lengthy songs unpacking the possibilities of simple chord progressions and is distinguished by Vile’s droll existential musings. Releasing an 11-track 70-minute record in 2013 is a gutsy move and Vile admits he encountered some doubts along the way.
“There’s always obstacles and different meltdowns of over-listening and trying to figure it out,” he says. “You definitely have meltdowns where you think the whole thing is not going to work out even though there’s potential. Ultimately I was going for something big and epic, shooting for something a little different – [trying] to grab ‘em by the balls a little bit.”
After a string of lo-fi releases, Vile’s 2011 LP Smoke Ring For My Halo brought him to the attention of a broader chunk of the music listening populace. Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze’s layered production and effortless pace is a departure from Smoke Ring’s more refined composition, indicating that Vile wasn’t interested in cashing in on the previous record’s winning formula. However, he understands that this sort of artistic turn can be unsettling to listeners.
“Ideally I want people to freak out about it, but I know it’s a challenging thing. I’ve heard it enough, I’ve listened to it over and over so I know all the nooks and crannies. Other people hear it the first time and it’s usually different than my last one, which they might have liked, then at first they think they don’t like it but it’s really just because you’ve got to listen. It takes multiple listens to get it all,” he says.
Vile’s critical reputation has gone from strength to strength with each album release, which indeed would be a major confidence booster. Yet, Vile dismisses any yearning for critical flattery.
“Even if somebody doesn’t get something you put out that’s a little rough and they give it a bad review, you can get upset at first but it’s almost better because you’re like, ‘Well you don’t get it but it doesn’t really matter.’ You don’t want somebody kissing your butt forever, because there’s some bubblegum shit that’s really popular,” he explains.
Tenaciously pursuing one’s artistic aims, particularly in the face of heightened external expectations, requires substantial self-confidence. Rather than adopting a modest attitude, Vile strives to harness the strengths of his idiosyncratic creative identity.
“I want to destroy. I’m quietly competitive. I love so many artists but I definitely just try to push the envelope. There’s this place in there that’s my own style that you can hope to do different than anybody else could do,” he says.
Although Vile acknowledges that his songwriting efforts generate a unique sound, he isn’t claiming artistic pre-eminence and he ascribes this stylistic singularity to all individually-driven musicians.
“A great musician has their own thing. For instance my friend Stella [Mozgawa, from Warpaint] who played drums on the record, she just has her own thing; sort of the most musical drums I’ve ever seen. I’m not saying anybody’s the greatest – well she is one of the greatest drummers I’ve ever seen, but that’s not what it’s about really. She has her own super unique personality. It’s almost like a self-searching thing more than conceiving ‘this is the kind of sound I want to make.’ It comes out of you, as a person, and you just observe it as you go.”
Despite realising that one is responsible for a particular strand of musicality, every musician is still at risk of falling into a routine way of operating. Vile explains that he compulsively seeks out new territory.
“I get obsessed with new music all the time and it definitely, through osmosis, comes in there, but it’s about channelling it through yourself. You’re always going to naturally go new directions unless you get disenchanted and become a parody of yourself or lose interest. I think [it’s about] keeping at anything and just loving music and finding new influences and evolving the way you’re playing and the way you’re recording.”
Lyrically, Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze is Kurt Vile’s most advanced work. With a mixture of everyday wisdom and comic irony, he covers themes such as the joy of existence, inescapable human fallibility and defiant self-confidence. Vile’s vocals are also more prominent in the mix than they have been in the past, but he indicates his lyrical abilities were never in question.
“I was always confident in my lyrics. I like them from everything that I’ve put out. I think that in the earlier ones you can’t hear them as much but that was almost [due to] lo-fi production values.”
Vile’s determined self-belief is vindicated by the timeless quality of his compositions, which continue to reveal themselves on repeated listens. However, looking ahead, he can’t completely circumvent self-doubt.
“Generally I’m just pretty confident… that doesn’t mean I’m not going to freak out on the next record and get self-conscious or paranoid.”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
