The name “Kurt Vile” sounds like it would belong more to a legit punk rocker ready to break a bottle over his head in a mosh pit, or a gangster comic book character. It certainly doesn’t conjure the image of the 35-year-old Vile, whose four albums and work with The War On Drugs has earned critical praise, a huge following, and inclusion into a conversation about rock’s last saviors when the genre’s creativity seems to be petering out. Vile is touring in support with his new album, b’lieve i’m going down…, a highly-anticipated collection of songs he’s been teasing with his most recent single, “Pretty Pimpin'”.
Listening to Vile’s steel-guitary, countrified riffs, it’s no surprise the accomplished guitarist first learned on a banjo. The music is regularly classified as “stoner-rock” due to the lo-fi nature of the sound and the frequent apathy in his lyrics, but that betrays the intelligence and depth in the arrangements and prose of his song catalogue. The mellow vibes Vile emits are no accident; it’s a part of a trained aesthetic that blends genres and paints a current picture of what it’s like waiting for your life to start.
According to rock legend Kim Gordon’s review of the most recent effort (out September 25), Vile is extending his range outside of his electric guitar/soft drone/longform tracks and into more musicality. One of the tracks released before drop, “Life Like This”, shows the newfound growth with its piano-based melody. New instrumentality means breathing life into an already-solid live show. When he brings his show to San Francisco Oct 15th (and 16th at the Fillmore, but it’s sold out) to Slim’s, attendees will get a chance to see a singular artist experiment and grow within his own self-created genre.
Fellow mellow folk-rocker Cass McCombs is supporting the headliner, so come early and plan to stay late.
Kurt Vile & The Violators
October 15th
Show @ 8:00 PM
21+
Tickets $25
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