Kurt Vile: "The Creature"

It takes very little time to identify a Kurt Vile song; the very moment those drowsy, spaced-out guitars creep from the speaker, I know. I’ve been thinking recently about what it is about Smoke Ring for My Halo that makes it my favorite record so far this year, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s because Vile’s songs are all such obvious products of his unique worldview. Each song may shift subtly in mood and theme, but each is happily preserved in that heavy raincloud of Kurt Vile-ness, a cloud that is simultaneously weary, lazy, quietly sarcastic, multi-layered, and, well, gorgeous. It’s a thrill to hear a young musician find his sound so wholly—and on his recent work, Vile seems to only lose himself more and more in it, completely at ease.

“The Creature,” then, is the ultimate Kurt Vile track, instantly recognizable as his work yet finding him gently pursuing more complex songwriting. Though it will be found on his upcoming EP So Outta Reach, “The Creature” was produced during the Smoke Ring sessions, one of a handful of tracks left off the record. This is apparent—while it definitely fits in with the record’s flow and personality, it seems a little too cumbersome for a full-length that already offered a six-minute opus in “Ghost Town.” “The Creature,” while not as hypnotic as “Ghost Town,” shares that track’s cyclical structure while adding even more layers; Vile’s intricate guitar work evolves from complex acoustic leads, to stabs of country twang, to a dark, echoing undercurrent that seems to mimic a cello. While “The Creature”’s sound is dark, the lyrics are cryptic and left open to interpretation. “They call me the creature of habit,” Vile sings, but is he talking about a homebody routine, or something more sinister? Either way, he retains his standard lukewarm-slacker enthusiasm: “That’s alright for me / So far, so good for me.”

That “The Creature” is just a left-overs for Vile betrays that whole slacker shtick: he’s a man on a hot streak, but he’s not just riding it out. He’s pushing himself, making music we can dream to, and making every last B-side matter.