10 Almost Perfect Alternative Rock Albums

Kurt Vile's sixth studio album is an intriguing exploration of folk-inspired psychedelia.

Pretty Pimpin opens things up with a jaunty guitar romp. The riff is memorable and infectious, pulling you along for a journey through Vile's musings on disillusionment. It's by far the most upbeat number. I'm An Outlaw follows a similar tone. It contains another Western-inspired guitar riff, as Vile sings about vague and half-arsed attempts to make his life more interesting by becoming an 'outlaw'.

There's a lot of sarcasm to his lyrics. At times he seems pissed-off at societies many hypocrisies, but never with enough conviction to do anything about it. At other times he's more self-deprecating, but always with a half wink. The album continues to pull everything down, both in tempo and mood as it progresses. But it's subtle; what starts as a fairly upbeat rock record, descends into a hypnotic and very laid back collection of folk numbers.

The monosyllabic vocals only contribute to the snoozy ambience. Vile's unique selling point is also his weakness. The drooling monotonous pacing of this record, makes it drag. Individually, all the songs are enjoyable, but sitting through one after another becomes tiresome.