Kurt Vile Albums Ranked

Kurt Samuel Vile (born January 3, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is known for his solo work and as the former lead guitarist of the rock band The War on Drugs. Both in the studio and during live performances, Vile is accompanied by his backing band, The Violators, which currently includes Jesse Trbovich (bass, guitar, saxophone), Rob Laakso (guitar, bass), and Kyle Spence (drums). In 2011, Vile released his fourth studio album, Smoke Ring for My Halo, which significantly increased his exposure. His fifth studio album, Wakin on a Pretty Daze, was released in 2013, with Laakso replacing Granduciel in his backing band. In 2015, Vile released his sixth studio album, b’lieve I’m goin down…. The lead single from the album, “Pretty Pimpin”, was Vile’s best performing song to date, topping the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart in March 2016. His 2017 release, Lotta Sea Lice, is a collaboration with Australian singer and guitarist Courtney Barnett. His latest album, Bottle It In, was released on October 12, 2018. Here are all of Kurt Vile’s albums ranked.

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9. So Outta Reach, 2011

“Once I make it more than 15 seconds into each song I never want to hit the skip button, it really hypnotizes. He still has this amazing ability to make music which feels heavy and cathartic like a drone metal album or something, but it’s really folky, breezy pop tunes. Also he’s a fantastic acoustic guitar player, which you don’t hear nearly enough nowadays. He seems to be getting better and better in most regards so I patiently await the next full length..”

8. Speed, Sound, Lonely KV, 2020

“I am not sure how fans of Kurt Vile would have feelings of mediocrity to this. Either they love KV’s work or they really feel indifferent to it, which begs the question, why review and listen fully to a work you do not wholly love? Why waste the time? This release has so much finger-picking acoustic guitar to it, it has me wondering where to begin. If that is your not your thing, and Kurt Vile’s laid-back innocence really doesn’t say much to you, then surely avoid this.”

7. Constant Hitmaker, 2008

“A distinct love for Neil Young filtered through a fondness for new wave and the lowest-fi outsider folk records, as evidenced by all the warbly sound effects and layers of murk hiding the big-time pop hooks. This is a fun one to revisit because so much of what would make his later records so great is here in the chrysalis, from the stomping beat of “Don’t Get Cute” to the excellent finger-picking of tracks like “Space Forklift” and “Classic Rock in Spring.” This gets a little too out there towards the end – tracks 10-12 play sorta like Carl Simmons’ Honeysuckle Tendrils without the brilliant melodies – but the opener, “Freeway,” is still among the best pop tracks Vile’s ever penned, thereby also making it one of the best tracks of the past 10 years.”

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6. God Is Saying This To You…, 2009

“Vile’s most abstract and slapped-together record is also his easiest to get and most fully-formed conceptually – a collection of demos and unfinished recordings that play on the nature of memory and nostalgia. What does that say about Vile? Well, definitely that the man has a lot of potential if he can find a bunch of things he just tossed off and assemble them into something that’s so cohesive – everything about this, even the cover, suggests a dream or memory only half-recalled, with a deep haze obscuring all of the little pieces that would have made it all make sense.”

5. Childish Prodigy, 2009

“Well, it took some blood, sweat and beers, but Philadelphia’s Rock Savior finally got a record deal worthy of the hits he so constantly makes. So here’s Childish Prodigy, another hearty slice of Vile’s signature “Tom Petty goes kraut-rock” style. One thing I find so appealing about Kurt Vile is evident all over this one – his songs never seem to really begin or end, and there is enough overlap between songs (and albums) that you can step into his realm from any angle. In a world of side-scrollers, Vile’s got his own 3D universe. He’ll repeat that “snake slithering up a spiral staircase” line when you least expect it, or record various versions of the same song (“Hunchback” appears here in a slightly groovier form, while “Inside Lookin Out” is essentially the shadow of “Good Lookin Out”). “

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4. Bottle It In, 2018

“Great relaxed pot-smoking music anchored by Kurt’s affable personality and sometimes goofy lyrics. Every song really sprawls out expansively, like a warm sonic blanket. Do these songs need to be as long as they are? Not necessarily, but they’re better for their indulgences.”

3. B’lieve I’m Goin Down…, 2015

“Kurt Vile’s so defiantly lackadaisical that it almost sounds like he’s improvising for most of this album. It sounds like someone just fucking around on their guitar half the time, but while that sounds like it might be a bit boring it’s not and I’m not entirely sure why. That’s the thing about this album, it works way better than you’d think it would.”

2. Smoke Ring For My Halo, 2011

“The layers of guitar work are beautifully detailed and work in blissful union, while Kurt’s vocals aren’t forced and sound almost psychedelic. In fact, the guitar work almost dominates the songs, which tends to make the listener feel relaxed within a powerful wall of sound. It’s almost like an acoustic interpretation of the guitar-heavy Dinosaur Jr.”

1. Wakin On A Pretty Daze, 2013

“I was definitely worried that this album would be too long-winded for my tastes (I mean come on, the average song length here is over 6 minutes!), but it didn’t really bother me. The tracks build a great mood with the longer instrumental passages that I quite like. “Walkin on a Pretty Day” doesn’t feel as long as it is, for example. The album does start running on fumes near the end, but there’s plenty of great material early on to make up for this.”