Kurt Vile

Kurt Vile

Kurt Vile is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Lansdowne, in the United States. Born in 1980, he is known for work that sits across indie folk, indie rock, lo-fi and rock, and his music is also tagged as psychedelic, indie, singer-songwriter and bedroom pop. His birth name is Kurt Vile; it is not a stage name.

Career

Vile begins making lo-fi home recordings in 2003 with frequent collaborator Adam Granduciel. The pair later form The War on Drugs in 2005, with Vile serving as lead guitarist. He leaves the band after its debut studio album, Wagonwheel Blues, appears in 2008.

He starts a solo career in 2008. Before signing to Matador, he releases God Is Saying This To You on Mexican Summer and Constant Hitmaker on Woodsist. His first Matador album, Childish Prodigy, follows in 2009.

Releases and projects

Smoke Ring for My Halo comes out in 2011 as his fourth album and second official Matador release. The album receives recognition from Uncut, which places it at number 14 in its list of top albums of the year, and it also earns him iTunes' Singer/Songwriter Album of the Year in the 2011 Rewind awards.

Later in 2011, he issues the six-track EP So Outta Reach, made up of songs from the same sessions as Smoke Ring for My Halo. The EP includes the single “The Creature” and a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Downbound Train”.

He performs both as a solo act and with a backing band called The Violators. He is also part of the duo Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile.

Style and associations

His music is often compared with Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger and Tom Petty. He works with Adam Granduciel early in his career, and his name is sometimes thought to resemble that of German composer Kurt Weill, although it is his real name.