Album Review: Kurt Vile - Bottle It In

Despite what headbangers may tell you, indie-rock has always been a genre full of worthy guitar heroes. From Mascis to Malkmus, the shredding giants of the '80s and '90s have certainly left some awfully big shoes for the new folks to fill. The odds are against Kurt Vile, but luckily, that's just the way he and his Jaguar like it baby.

The usual country twang and folk-rock sounds hang around every corner of Vile's latest studio album, Bottle It In. But so does the unexpected influence of Mark Kozelek's rambling, classic talkin' blues and the repetition of krautrock.

The marvellous lead single Loading Zones kicks the album off in a very Tom Petty-meets-REM kinda way. With Vile's vocals sitting up front in the mix, it's clear that his buddy and musical collaborator Courtney Barnett has given him some newfound confidence as both a writer and a vocalist.

More than a few tracks here hover around the eight to ten-minute mark with repetitive, jammy instrumentals underscoring the psychedelic lyrical explorations of Vile's personal life. Not all of them are worthy of their length, but Bassackwards and Skinny Mini definitely display that Vile is more than capable of mastering his new direction.

Listeners may not always understand what Vile is on about on Bottle It In. But given the quality of these songs, there's no doubt that we'll all be spending time trying to get to the bottom of it.