Artist:Kurt Vile
Song:Baby's Arms
Album:Smoke Ring for my Halo
Singer songwriter Kurt Vile has had success as an album and touring artist. It's unlikely that he will ever have mainstream success. My guess is he doesn't want that anyway. His music might appeal to those who like similar artists like Jeff Buckley. He was born Jan. 3, 1980 in the Philadelphia suburb of Lansdowne, PA. Believe it or not, Kurt Vile is his real name. His father gave him a banjo at age 14. He worked on his music at home. Influences include minimalist acts like Pavement, Beck and Smog. Vile worked on his music while working day jobs until he met Adam Granduciel in 2003 and they formed the band The War on Drugs. They had modest success with a couple of albums. But Vile thought that was Granduciel's band. And he wanted to do his own music. So he started his own band Kurt Vile and the Violators and signed with Matador Records. Granduciel was in that band at first. Vile's debut album for Matador was Childish Prodigy in 2009. They toured with Dinosaur Jr. and Thurston Moore. Vile's main collaborator with The Violators is Jesse Trbovich. He plays guitar, bass, sax and keyboards. Trbovich started out with Vile in 2006 and he's still in the band. Baby's Arms is from Vile's 2011 album Smoke Ring for my Halo. Vile wrote and produced. Vile says the songs on this album are more introspective than previous albums. Because of constant touring, Vile's albums have charted on the Billboard 200. And he gets airplay on Alternative Radio. But I don't think Vile will ever have a hit single. He may not want one. After six albums with Matador, Vile moved to Verve Forecast for the 2022 album Watch my Moves. He says The Velvet Underground being on Verve in the 60s influenced him to sign there. The album did not do as well commercially probably because they weren't touring during the pandemic. I think leaving Matador will turn out to be a big mistake. Here's the video for Baby's Arms by Kurt Vile.
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