B’lieve I'm Going Down by Kurt Vile

Written on his couch at home in Philadelphia, and recorded at a variety of studios across the length and breadth of the United States, B’lieve I'm Going Down, Kurt Vile’s follow up to Wakin On A Pretty Daze finds the softly spoken, guitar picker looking inwards for inspiration and quietly coming up trumps. The bluesy album title is only one of many conscious nods to the music culture that Vile thrives on and uses as raw fuel for his own excursions, though he has reached a point of self assurance now that the artist he most sounds like is himself these days, even if there are a number of constituents and ingredients required for that recipe. There’s often a healthy dose of humour present in Vile’s self-depreciating lines and kooky wordcraft, that serves to balances his more melancholic musings, and this is no exception. While he often makes it all sound deceptively simple with his lackadaisical delivery, there’s a real complexity, and growing prowess, in his music and lyrics. Photo: Matador