Live Review: ALBUM REVIEW: Kurt Vile 'Wakin On A Pretty Daze'

When Philadelphia rocker KURT VILE gave us his 2011 release Smoke Ring For My Halo, we became witness to his bluesy, garage sonic mindscape; more so than any of his previous releases.

With two years  now past us since the highly-regarded LP, we are again privileged to hear the talent of this respected musician, as his fifth studio album Wakin On A Pretty Daze has just been co-released through Matador and Remote Control! [Again] produced by John Agnello, Wakin On A Pretty Daze is a 69 minute double album that was conceived in 2012 and travelled to a variety of studios across Northeast America.

A simply stunning body of work, Wakin On A Pretty Daze is just another document filed under KURT VILE's name that proves an exceptionally talented musician of our time.

Already well aware of the first single, the similarly titled 'Wakin On A Pretty Day' allowed us an inkling of what the record has on offer. A pretty long track that almost pushes the ten minute mark, 'Wakin On A Pretty Day' is a soft song that has seemingly evoked a lighter sound, differing from the sound of its neighbouring album, Smoke Ring For My Halo. Made up on charming acoustics and gentle drums, the ensemble is completed by the flair of Vile's genius lyricism executed in a simplistic yet distinctive tonal voice.

After a rather mild opening track, Vile turns up the dial through the majestic fuzz of his electric guitar in 'KV Crimes'. Clearly been poked and prodded with a distortion pedal, this track is the perfect candidate to comfortably sit on a Summer roadtrip playlist. Byron, anyone?

On Smoke Ring For My Halo, we became quite familiar with Vile's use of backing tracks that created a textural beat (found on tracks 'Jesus Fever' and 'In My Time'), coinciding with the breezy vocals and loveable, bluesy guitars. With this technique carrying its way over to Wakin On A Pretty Daze, 'Was All Talk' is found using this, providing a great device to KURT VILE's performance qualities.

You kind of lose yourself in 'Girl Called Alex'. The instrumentation just rides off like a blissful dream. Pay attention to the lyrics though, and you have a completely different story. Telling a story of people in his past, Vile gets taken advantage by nostalgia in this track, as he tends to "think about them all the time".

'Never Run Away' is Wakin On A Pretty Daze's second single. Sitting right in the middle of the record, it continues to break up the variety of sounds that have been compiled onto this one record. This track will almost inevitably make you bop around more so than the softer tracks found on this record. This is due to the simplistic yet driving drum beat (when present).

By the time we reach 'Pure Pain', it's pretty much certain that Vile and his guitar make quite a humble yet superb duo. The marriage of his reverberated vocals against both the strums, slides and finger-picking of his guitar exhibit a genuine friendship. This syndicate between man and his instrument has been accompanied by gentle drums in this five minute track. By the time it concludes, you'll pick up on just how aesthetically moody this song is.

'Too Hard' is instrumentally very heavenly. Again, Vile's guitar-work is faultless, and is freely playing before a backdrop of strings. Lyrically this track focuses heavily on growing up and being indicative of maturity.

'Shame Chamber' is explained as the title suggests. For those who are to be shamed upon, you're stuck in this mindful chamber where people are to do nothing but frown upon you. A real straight-forward track, the lyricism notes self-pity and disgrace with a poetic approach.

'Snowflakes Are Dancing' is the shortest track on Wakin On A Pretty Daze. A little more obscure in its story-telling, the song permits a very personalised opinion on what Vile is expressing here due to the lack of obviousness in the lyrics.

The second last track on KURT VILE's new album, 'Air Bud', opens up in a slightly different style compared to what we've heard thus far. Playing around with an electronic sound, Vile incorporates a sneaky synth. Quite foreign next to the warm instrumentation we're so used to hearing, this additional element still manages to work well considering the musical environment it's been thrown into.

Wakin On A Pretty Daze has proven its eclecticism through the different tones, melodies and instrumentation used throughout the entire record. Its closing track 'Goldtone' adds one last flavour to this assortment due to its cruisey, twinkly nature. With the touch of female backup vocals, soft timbre and longevity, 'Goldtone' is enriching as it is peaceful, leaving the listener feeling happily dazed after hanging out with Vile for the past hour.

Wakin On A Pretty Daze combines effortless production and almost slack lyricism in the best way possible. This will make sense upon listening. His lack of need to douse you with heavy instrumentation and harsh vocals allows his gentle charm to shine through in his infectious songwriting. With almost each tracks duration lasting for qutie a long time, this genius musician clearly just want to share a good jam.

A truly timeless album, Wakin On A Pretty Daze is now available for digital and physical purchase via Matador and Remote Control Records.

You can stream the entire album via NPR HERE.

Words by Hannah Galvin.

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