Kurt Vile - Childish Prodigy (2009)

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AMG: 4
"Childish Prodigy is split between drunken caterwauling and quiet hangover-recovery sessions, and both sides of the spectrum are fantastic. The band's spirit is captured perfectly, courtesy of Jeff Zeiglar's open-sounding recording style, and the indie underground rarely seems this fresh and free."

Kurt Vile - Constant Hit Maker (2009)

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Philadelphian one-man band (and terrible pun merchant) Kurt Vile kicks off this excellent record with a bit of a lo-fi pop anthem: 'Freeway' is a simple enough guitar and drum machine affair, but there's a raw, energetic romanticism that has something quietly classic about it. The line "I've got a freeway mind" instantly taps into the tropes of great Americana songwriters, and the fact that this is all strung together in a punky, DIY setting only serves to make the record more effective and heartstring-tugging. Not all of Constant Hitmaker features such all-out pop though: you'll find weird sketchy pieces that sound like the emissions of some far out supermarket synth drones, all of which confirms just how cobbled together and erratic the album is. At times this record sounds like some freakish combination of Ariel Pink and Atlas Sound, while at others it's all about straight-up slacker songwriting, as on 'Classic Rock In Spring' or 'Slow Talkers'. Thoroughly weird and unfocussed, but not without considerable charms. boomkat