A working theory: Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile recorded a whole album together mostly just so they'd have an excuse to hang out. It's hard having friends who live in different parts of the world, friends you might see once or twice a year if you're lucky. Barnett sings about just that on the new song "Continental Breakfast": "I cherish my intercontinental friendships / We talk it over continental breakfast / In a hotel in east bumble-wherever / Somewhere on the sphere, around here." (Vile wrote the words, but Barnett sings them.) Barnett and Vile live in Melbourne and Philadelphia, respectively. They've known each other for years, since a just-starting-out Barnett opened a random Melbourne show for Vile and told him how much she loved his Smoke Ring For My Halo album. If the music that people make is any indication of their personality, then they're pretty similar people, two loopy and discursive and conversational songwriters. They both draw on crackly old records, and they're both absolute monsters on guitar. They should be friends. And so they spent eight days, over the course of a couple of years, recording together and finding some kind of musical middle ground. Now they get to tour together, sharing stages along with a ridiculously talented band made up entirely of extremely cool musician friends. They've engineered a pleasant experience for themselves, and it turns out to be a pleasant experience for the rest of us, as well.
Album Of The Week
Album Of The Week: Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile Lotta Sea Lice
