The former War on Drugs member returns with his seventh solo studio album.
Kurt Vile’s music digs into the American tradition of picking up a guitar and letting the words float freely. Now, add a dose of psychedelia, indie-rock, and head full of Neil Young songs and you have yourself Bottle It In, an album made for riding on a highway at sunset. Every track on here explodes in colour and it all starts off with the breezy ‘Loading Zones’, a song which sees Vile don a sort-of Tom Petty-like vocal pattern.
The song ‘Rollin’ With the Flow’ encourages listeners to take a second and pause for a while. Count your blessings first then go with the flow. The song ‘Bassackwards’ has this wordy, stream-of-consciousness delivery similar to that of his recent writing partner Courtney Barnett. The song has Vile travelling back and forth from reality to his mind, all the while getting lost in it.
The sonic valleys that Kurt Vile and his longtime band The Violators take you on are nothing short of cinematic. There’s something about the punchy drums, ethereal guitars, and larger-than-life voice of Vile that plays like a soundtrack for a feature film.
Gone is the once bedroom sound of previous albums such as 2008’s Constant Hitmaker or 2009’s Childish Prodigy. Luckily, with every improvement in quality, Vile’s humble, “every-man” personality remains intact. That is especially true for Bottle It In. It was worth the wait for Vile and his band to return. So just sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.
