Kurt Vile

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Biography

Philadelphia, United States (2003 – present)

Kurt Vile (born 1980 in Philadelphia) is an American guitarist and singer. Previously the lead guitarist in the band The War on Drugs, he began his solo career in 2008.

Vile began his musical career in 2003 creating lo-fi home recordings with frequent collaborator Adam Granduciel. The duo subsequently formed the indie rock band The War on Drugs in 2005. Vile departed following the release of their debut studio album, Wagonwheel Blues, in 2008.

Vile’s music has been likened to Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, and Tom Petty. His first album for Matador, titled Childish Prodigy was released in October 2009. Prior to signing with Matador, Vile released two albums, God is Saying This to You and Constant Hitmaker, on Mexican Summer and Woodsist, respectively. He plays both solo shows as well as shows with a backing band called The Violators.

Smoke Ring For My Halo, released in March of 2011, is Kurt Vile’s fourth album and second official release for Matador Records. Uncut placed the album at number 14 on its list of “Top 50 albums of 2011” and garnered Vile the iTunes #Rewind2011 Singer/Songwriter Album of the Year. Vile followed up the widely acclaimed album with the six-song EP release, So Outta Reach, in November of the same year. The EP was composed of tracks originating from the same sessions that birthed Smoke Ring for My Halo.
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  • burneverybridge

    repetitive? you've gotta be kidding me

    17 May 2:15am Reply

  • blebbio

    @arr2171 what was the point of the album then? seems like they were relatively simple pop songs just dragged on far longer than they should have. i like long songs if its takes different and is constantly building or combining different ideas, but these songs just seemed repetitive to me.

    15 May 12:54am Reply

  • traytray89

    KURT VILES

    12 May 2:26pm Reply

  • Fatbirdsdontfly

    I'm not gettin' the love for Kurt Vile, including his last album. I did try. Just seems mediocre and repetitive to me.

    10 May 1:51pm Reply

  • alfancur

    i would like to see petty,young,nash,crosby and springsteen jamming with kurt

    9 May 3:10am Reply

  • BitchOfAgnesi

    oh my god fuck off with some of these stupid-ass comments. anyway this new album is good but it hasn't gripped me like smoke ring did. maybe i will check out some of his older work.

    8 May 6:51am Reply

  • u2theedge

    boring

    7 May 7:42am Reply

  • arr2171

    You didn't understand the new record when you think it's unnecessarily long. Feel it <3

    6 May 10:38am Reply

  • harajukudude

    Wow Popularity Explosion!

    1 May 1:56pm Reply

  • blebbio

    new album is pretty good but i feel like many of the songs are unnecessarily long. as a whole its perfectly pleasant but nothing that particularly grips me.

    1 May 2:13am Reply

  • DeathWNC

    the new album is A+, keep it up, Kurt

    29 Apr 4:34am Reply

  • SometimeWorld

    Obsessed with 'Air Bud'. Hearing slight traces of Camel in the synths and BoC in the drums. Glorious sounds!

    28 Apr 6:29am Reply

  • WesternRadio

    God is Saying this to you is still his best. But really it's all good.

    27 Apr 9:56pm Reply

  • Confessions87

    The reason mainstream music is so forgettable and digestible now is because society has a very short attention span. The Western world is dominated by technology and quick fix solutions. It's a lifestyle that accompanied the onset of the 1980's and has only grown more prevalent as the decades go on. Of course there are many contributing factors that warrant further discussion. Look at Joni Mitchell's commentary on America and the decline in general of thinking attitudes. "Very little emphasis on loving but a whole lot of focus on how to be sexy," etc. "Everyone is striving to be hip and cool..."

    25 Apr 8:29pm Reply

  • nollfem4

    Loving the new LP!

    21 Apr 11:33pm Reply

  • impronen

    Pk_Henry: Don't really think so. Life in the 16th century wasn't that complicated (for most at least) and still, most music listened by commoners was simple folk music played by troubadours and travelling entertainers. And popular music has been simple most of the time we label as modern age. Take a listen to "A Hard Day's Night" and tell me, straight faced, that its more complicated than Rihanna's "We Found Love".

    21 Apr 5:39am Reply

  • nofreebird

    The new album absolutely slays. I'm getting into this more than anything else he's done, It's all incredible though. You the man Kurt!

    19 Apr 6:29pm Reply

  • Pk_Henry

    Well, considering that the music business is dominated by artists as Rihanna, Justin Biber, Lady Gaga and etc. it doesn't seem harder to understand why Vile's music don't reach more people. It's not unlikely that the oversimplification of music is due to the overcomplication of modern life.

    19 Apr 3:59am Reply

  • lfsc25

    This guy came to save the music.

    17 Apr 10:39pm Reply

  • HushSettleDown

    New album is fantastic! I didn't really get into Smoke Ring as much as the other though

    17 Apr 3:13pm Reply
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