Kurt Vile – “Mount Airy Hill (Way Gone)”
Next month, Kurt Vile will return with the much-anticipated new album (Watch My Moves), his first for Verve Records. Vile recorded the album at his home studio, self-producing with some help from Elliott Smith collaborator Rob Schnapf, and we’ve already heard the early tracks “Like Exploding Stones” and “Hey Like A Child.” Today, we get to hear another one.
Vile’s new jam “Mount Airy Hill (Way Gone)” is named after the Philly suburb where Vile lives. It’s a loose elegant sprawl that lasts nearly six minutes, and it’s got the sort of easy groove that Vile does so well. Vile recorded the song with his regular backing band the Violators, and it’s got Vile singing about coming down off a high. On the chorus, Vile hits a falsetto note out of nowhere. That’s pretty surprising, but this song is full comfort-zone territory.
Director Drew Saracco‘s “Mount Airy Hill (Way Gone)” video gives us Kurt Vile, in a Sun Ra Arkestra shirt, skateboarding through the suburbs and wandering the woods, experiencing friendly psychedelic visions. Vile’s goofy charm is on full display here. Check it out below.
(Watch My Moves) is out 4/15 on Verve. Pre-order it here.