Back to Moon Beach

by Kurt Vile

Overview

At some point, Kurt Vile started stretching out. His ambling, guitar-powered indie songs often progress a little more like classic rock or even rootsy jam band tunes, and they reached their highest form on lengthy albums where they could take their time finding the groove. Vile's 2022 effort (Watch My Moves) was his fourth consecutive album with a run time over an hour long, so it follows that auxiliary collection Back to Moon Beach is presented as an EP but closes in on an hour itself with just nine miscellaneous tracks. Collected from various sessions that date back to 2019, the songs largely fit into the constant river of hazy emotions that Vile's music always returns to. The first third of the album -- "Another Good Year for the Roses," "Touched Somethin (Caught a Virus)," and the title track -- all stroll by at similar relaxed tempos with the kind of minimal effort in regard to structural complexity and vocal performance that Vile has made his calling card. Cate Le Bon's production assistance on "Another Good Year for the Roses" injects the song with extra pop bounce as well as some experimental coloration. "Blues Come for Some" is a hiss-coated piano ballad, while the moody, somewhat country-intoned twang of "Tom Petty's Gone (But Tell Him I Asked for Him)" or the drum machine-driven "Like a Wounded Bird Trying to Fly" are about as lively as Back to Moon Beach gets. The collection is rounded out by a cover of Wilco's "Passenger Side" from their 1995 debut, A.M., a take on Bob Dylan's Christmas tune "Must Be Santa" (a wholesome holiday song made extra cute here by backup vocals from Vile's daughters), and an alternate version of (Watch My Moves) track "Cool Water." It's another page in Vile's ongoing catalog of daydreams and stoned musings, in its best moments reaching the same levels of quality as his fully considered albums. ~ Fred Thomas

Product Details

Release Date:	11/17/2023
Label:	Verve
UPC:	0602458439021

Tracks

1. Another Good Year for the Roses
2. Touched Somethin (Caught a Virus)
3. Back to Moon Beach
4. Like Wounded Bird Trying to Fly
5. Blues Come for Some
6. Tom Petty's Gone (But Tell Him I Asked for Him)
7. Must Be Santa
8. Passenger Side
9. Cool Water

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Kurt Vile   Primary Artist,Bass,Bells,Piano,Claves,Guitar,Vocals,Cowbell,Trumpet,Keyboards,Synthesizer,Slide Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Baritone),Guitar (Electric),Guitar (Resonator)
Rob Laakso   Bass,Guitar,Mini Moog,Lap Steel Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Stella Mozgawa   Drums,Percussion
Farmer Dave Scher   Melodica,Keyboards,Lap Steel Guitar
Jesse Trbovich   Guitar (Electric)
Mikel Patrick Avery   Percussion
Gia Margaret   Vocals
Awilda Vile   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Delphine Vile   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Kyle Spence   Drums
Dave Scher   Melodica,Keyboards,Lap Steel Guitar
Chris Cohen   Bass,Organ,Guitar (Electric)
Cate Le Bon   Piano
Adam Langellotti   Bass,Drums,Mini Moog,Percussion,Synthesizer,Metallophone,Fender Rhodes,Guitar (Electric)

Technical Credits

Jessica Thompson   Mastering Engineer
Rob Laakso   Producer,Synthesizer Programming
Kurt Vile   Design,Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Band Photo,Synthesizer Programming
Bill Fredericks   Composer
Matt Schuessler   Engineer
Jesse Trbovich   Producer
Reynold Jaffe   Management
Julia Brokaw   Band Photo
Gabe Wax   Engineer,Recording
Mikel Patrick Avery   Band Photo
Awilda Vile   Composer
Aidan Finn   Assistant Engineer
Gabriel Giammarco   Assistant Engineer
Lydia Beanland   Cover Photo
Suzanne Lang   Band Photo
Ted Young   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Recording
Jeff Tweedy   Composer
Kyle Spence   Producer
Rob Schnapf   Mixing,Producer
Mike Zimmerman   Design
Cate Le Bon   Producer,Recording,Band Photo
Hal Moore   Composer
Adam Langellotti   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Band Photo,Synthesizer Programming