By Anna-Sofia Takala, Year 11
This edition is about the artist Kurt Vile, and his album Wakin on a Pretty Daze, 2013.
Wakin on a Pretty Daze is a pleasant and well rounded album with both relaxing background tunes and energizing music that gets you in the mood. It is classified as indie or psychedelic rock, and was influenced by music from the 80’s and electro, but put his own spin on it. Vile says, “I was listening to some really disparate stuff while writing it, like there was this one Gary Numan song, ‘Are Friends Electric?’, and some other weird early-80s stuff, that I think worked its way in there.”
As for the title, Vile explained, “It’s probably the most simple title that I ever had. It’s like the simplest pun ever. It rolls off the tongue, but also it’s the kind of thing, once you have the record, you’ll understand. The first song on the record is called “Wakin on a Pretty Day,” which is like the tone setter. It’s not just an album you name after one of the songs. The whole general thing is one “long daze, and that’s waking up.” He describes his music as a daze, which is basically what it is. Vile has a somewhat monotonous voice that brings an interesting tone to the music, making it sound calmer than it would otherwise. Every song has a strong guitar melody, and uses the drums and synthesizers.
The first song in the album, “Wakin on a Pretty Day” is a 10 minute piece which Vile says he did because “It was just the next logical step from making succinct pop songs. What do you do after that? You make pop songs that are longer and more epic, that push the envelope. Imagine your favourite song, or something that you play over and over in the car, except that you don’t have to start it over as much.” It has a good melody, and keeps the song going for the full 10 minutes without the audience getting too tired of the song. It changes just enough to keep the tune fresh, which is one thing that makes Vile particularly talented, in my opinion. His music is good in any situation, and fits any mood.
On Monday the 16th of October, Vile is coming out with a new album. In this album he collaborates with Courtney Barnett, who has a similar style and voice. I wo
uld have written the article on their collaboration, but it unfortunately isn’t out yet. We’ll simply have to wait for the next edition.
