Review: Kurt Vile's "Wakin' on a Pretty Daze"
“Do you risk it exploding all over?”
"Do you risk it exploding all over?"
I first heard of Kurt Vile through my friend Jen. She took me to see him at a small venue in Portland called Bunk Bar. There is no stage. It holds maybe 150 people and there is always one bartender. I love seeing music there, but find it difficult to drink there. Kurt played an amazing show regardless of our sobriety. His band played maybe ten feet from our melting faces. His guitar soared and mellowed. His voice was a decoder of my heart. Our walk home through the cool evening air was warm with music which transcended any stress life may have handed us. We walked arm in arm laughing at the absurdity of how great a $10 show can still be. She burned copies of all of his music for me and I gobbled it all up. About six months later I saw him again at a much larger venue with a real stage and seats. It was still great, but lacked the immediacy of my first experience and cost $20.
Two weeks ago I was hanging at my buddy Aaron's, you know, drinking beer and spinning sides. He has a leather box where he keeps his fresh LP's. He was working his way through the new additions when his eyes got wide and his Cheshire grin grew more maniacal than usual. "Do you like blue vinyl, Barrios?" As long as the music is good, I retorted. He didn't tell me what the record was, just that it was a Record Store Day find and he hasn't listened past side one. The opening bars to "Wakin' on a Pretty Day" played and the unmistakable voice of Kurt Vile blissed through the needle of his Thorens phonograph player. We sat on his Ikea sofa without conversation. We floated. This is perhaps Kurt Vile's greatest achievement to date. In this song, he has brought all of his previous efforts to its ultimate musical space. He has glorified himself within his whispery vocals. He has perfected his own sound. We listened to the song several more times before moving on to the next record in the leather box. I understand why he hasn't listened to more of the record yet, there is no need to. This is one of the reasons I love sharing sides with Aaron, he has patience. Patience allows a deeper experience with music. Patience and a kick-ass stereo system.
I can't get tickets to Kurt Vile's next show. He is rising. He has risen. I have listened to the entirety of his latest record, and I cannot fathom what direction he might go in next. This is, for me, the apex of the Kurt Vile experience. It sets my mood. It finds my heart. It slows me down and keeps me at peace. It is the perfect Sunday morning record this summer. As Kurt wistfully sings on the opening track,
yeah, i'm ... wakin on a pretty day
floating in place, no need sayin nothin
to explain it to my loved ones ...
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