Kurt Vile’s latest album I b’lieve I’m going down subtly pricks at late night existential musings and illuminations while brushing one’s teeth to complement Vile’s own brand of folk-pop, creating his most accessible album to date, but without losing his idiosyncratic verve and charm.
As the tube drew closer to Camden, the length of male hair gradually increased, fitting the stereotypical slacker-rocker look Vile has become synonymous with. Although, it became apparent that his new album has gained him a fan base of middle-class couples looking for an opportunity to kiss ceremoniously to the sound of a banjo.
Kurt kept the young and old alike of the audience waiting patiently for their long haired hero. He eventually emerged with an awkward wave and a gawky smile; however I b’lieve I’m going down encapsulates a new confident feeling in Kurt and the rest of his performance embodied this.
His set started coincidently with ‘On Tour’, one of the standout tracks from his breakthrough album Smoke Ring for my Halo, his sardonic and derisive lyrics splinter through the music, “Aw hey, who cares? What’s a guitar?” Kurt’s universe is centred on the beauty of the mundane and solving life’s big questions with a wild imagination and “pimpin’” new trainers. The songs from B’lieve have a different feel from his earlier work; ‘Dust Bunnies’’ pulsating guitars, ‘Stand Inside’ presents Kurt’s delicate side and ‘I’m an Outlaw’ seams expertly electric drum beats and banjo plucking, but all are hugely successful.
The standout track, ‘Pretty Pimpin’ exhibits everything which is great about the new album and the band performed its intricacies perfectly. Kurt sings about not recognising himself in the mirror whilst carrying out his morning routine, but he comes to the conclusion that this strange episode is fine, because “he was sporting all my clothes. I gotta say pretty pimpin.” He croons this while kicking his new bright white high-top trainers up in the air, looking like a lackadaisical member of Busted.
His music is all about teasing the audience, keeping them restrained before releasing them into a heady and euphoric daze which you never want to end, a technique perfectly exemplified on the tracks ‘Goldtone’, ‘Jesus Fever’ and my personal favourite Wakin on a Pretty Day’. He finishes the set with the magical and pulsating ‘Lost my Head There’. and leaves the audience with the same gawky wave he entered with. “Love you guys, see you later,” he cheerily signs-off.
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