Childish Prodigy

by Kurt Vile

Overview

Don't judge a book by its cover. Kurt Vile's long-haired hippie appearance may suggest West Coast roots -- even though he's actually a Philadelphian -- but his sound comes straight out of the underbelly of the Big Apple. With a slack-singing style reminiscent of Lou Reed or Alan Vega, and his vocals doused in slap-back reverb, the songs on Childish Prodigy shift between gritty numbers driven by guitar fuzz and steady ballads backed by one-key baritone drones. If this sounds a bit derivative of the Velvets, well, it is and it isn't. Vile and his backing band the Violators are knowledgeable students of the CBGB school of rock, circa Son of Sam, but just when you think you have them pegged as leather-clad street hoodlums on "Freak Train," a shuffling Roland 707 groove topped with a distortion wall and tense yelps ("I've never been so insulted in my whole life! Shit!"), they double back the other way with the mellow, fingerpicked circles of "Blackberry Song." The '70s New York scene makes up a big chunk of this album, but Vile's unique as a visionary with his own sound and a wide range of voices that turn from rambunctious to innocent in a blink. 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. ~ Jason Lymangrover

Product Details

Release Date:	10/11/2019
Label:	Matador
UPC:	0744861088776

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Hunchback
2. Dead Alive
3. Overnite Religion
4. Freak Train
5. Blackberry Song
6. Monkey
7. Heart Attack
8. Amplifier
9. Inside Looking Out

Disc 2

10. He's Alright
11. Farfisas in Falltime
12. Take Your Time

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Kurt Vile   Primary Artist,Banjo,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Trumpet,Sampling,Harmonica,Electronics,Synthesizer,Drum Machine,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Baritone),Guitar (Electric),Guitar (12 String),Guitar (Resonator),Guitar (12 String Acoustic)
Mike Z   Drums,Percussion
Michael "Mike Dee" Johnson   Korg Synthesizer
Mikele Edwards   Vocals (Background)
Adam Granduciel   Drums,Sampling,Percussion,Electronics,Fuzz Guitar,Synthesizer,Guitar (Tremolo),Guitar (Baritone),Guitar (Electric),Guitar (12 String)

Technical Credits

Alan Douches   Mastering
Dim Stars   Composer
Richard Hell   Composer
Jeff Zeigler   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Boyd Shropshire   Design,Artwork,Art Direction
Kurt Vile   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Art Direction
Adam Granduciel   Engineer,Producer