So this gentleman from Philadelphia was a former member of a band called The War on Drugs, whom I had not heard of until Mr Vile was brought to my attention by a friend at the record store I work at. OK, I had heard of Mr Vile, but something about his name made me steer clear. Call it prejudice, call it what you will, but the name gave me a bad first impression – even though it simply turns out to be his birth name and not some “cool” made up stage name. But this friend suggested it and the way she described it – his last album Smoke Ring For My Halo– and that it was something she put on at night to drift off to sleep to, well that intrigued me. So that’s how I experienced it, listening to the first few songs in bed as I tried to get to sleep, and I was instantly hooked. It’s not how I enjoy his music now, but I found a way of enjoying it on my own terms. One of the things I appreciate in artists are those who like repetition. This comes in handy with electronic music especially as the artists are trying to keep people glued to the dance floor, but in rock music it’s a lot less common. Kurt Vile however appreciates repetition and drone, and with the gorgeous melodies he brings to the table, it only adds to the summer vibe I feel he’s intended with this album. It doesn’t sound like any summer, but specifically it’s vibe feels like the summer after senior year of high school, those few months of freedom before you move on to college. Those months of pure laziness and what seems like endless time with not a care in the world (listen to ‘Wakin on a Pretty Day‘ above). Time to be free and enjoy everything around you, and not be worried or caught up about the time constraints of even your average song. Just let it all go in the chillest way you can. And the song lengths here reflect this vibe. A nine minute song here, an eight minute song there, and how about a 10 minute song to cap it all off. Why not? We have the time, and there’s nothing to lose. When you have a killer melody or riff, why cut it short? And when the days are long, with the sun so bright and it’s just hot as well and never seems to let it up, this is the album you need to accompany you. This album feels like the obvious progression of the sound a band like Dinosaur Jr. excelled at in the 90’s. The similarities in sound are there – it’s crunchy, the guitar solos that scream out the pent up frustrations of youth, but overall it’s a quieter, mellower Dinosaur Jr. Not to say fans of the genius of J Mascis will like this necessarily, and not that people who can’t stand the volume and nasally voiced stoner rock of Dinosaur Jr will dislike this, but to me the similarities are there. It’s a widescreen, chilled out, cinematic folky, droned out take on Dinosaur Jr, which in the opinion of this typer, is very welcome in today’s musical landscape. Put it this way, it’s like living in a small town (John Cougar Mellencamp), in the town park, on a hot day, drinking a Hawaiian Punch, watching the local baseball team at dusk while fireflies spark up all around you, and all you can think about is the new girl in class you have a crush on and are just yearning to see again when school is back in session. This is that soundtrack. Beautiful.