Albums to watch

Wakin On A Pretty Daze

Kurt Vile

Wakin On A Pretty Daze

Latest collection of indie folk / rock compositions from the Philadelphia singer-songwriter, following up his acclaimed 2011 release Smoke Ring For My Halo

ADM rating[?]

8.0

Label
Matador
UK Release date
08/04/2013
US Release date
09/04/2013
  1. 10.0 |   God Is In The TV

    Full of space yet filled with constant reverberations, KV’s style is unique and within this album, he shows more skilled song-writing capabilities from his previous releases
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  2. 9.0 |   Spin

    In his domestic, post-puritanical world, ambition is a good quality, but best served when you don't make a show of it
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  3. 9.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Vile makes no effort to find any shortcut in these overgrown pastures; instead, he revels in the gluttony of time, and so do we
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  4. 9.0 |   The AU Review

    The only point that could be made in the negative is that there isn't a stand-out or obvious hit here, but Vile doesn't seem to be the sort of musician to be bothered by such trivialities. This is an excellent album
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  5. 9.0 |   musicOMH

    The 11 songs collected here are all among the very best of his career, enlivened with a vividness and warmth that offers something new with every repeated listen
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  6. 9.0 |   Uncut

    Kurt and his band the Violators have painstakingly created a warm and epic soundworld
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  7. 8.7 |   Beats Per Minute

    He’s as wryly expressive as ever but he seems less content to be pigeonholed as your friendly neighborhood shaggy-stoner-slacker figure
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  8. 8.5 |   The 405

    For all its accessibility it remains a remarkably restrained work
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  9. 8.5 |   Paste Magazine

    2008’s Constant Hitmaker and 2009’s Childish Prodigy, were more a collage of loose ideas organized around a singular, murky sound, Daze presents 11 carefully composed tracks with beginnings, middles and ends
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  10. 8.5 |   Pitchfork

    The music, and the act of loving it, are exercises in patience
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  11. 8.2 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    His music is a vessel of sorts, a book penned from Vile’s subconscious and written for our experiences, so that we can live his music the way he does
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  12. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    This is a rare beast: a rock album that is quietly inventive without its protagonist showboating
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  13. 8.0 |   Blurt

    Somehow, Pretty’s spiritual resignation sounds like an invitation
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  14. 8.0 |   Under The Radar

    Daze demands time in order to fully appreciate it, promising new discoveries with successive listens
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  15. 8.0 |   The Fly

    Despite its length and moments of lyrical self-loathing, Wakin… neither bores nor depresses. Vile lets us gaze into his soul so we can wallow in his easy-drifting, unquantifiably miffed genius
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  16. 8.0 |   State

    An album that is woozy and indulgent in all the best possible ways
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  17. 8.0 |   The Observer

    His most assured record to date, this is also the Philadelphia rocker's most purely pleasurable
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  18. 8.0 |   Clash

    The Philadelphian’s most focused to date
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  19. 8.0 |   Slant Magazine

    The Philly rocker is well aware of what he's become and what his audience wants from him
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  20. 8.0 |   All Music

    Easily his most focused and accessible work
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  21. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Wakin' on a Pretty Daze is one of those rare examples of an artist’s uninhibited self-indulgence resulting in an LP which plays firmly to their strengths
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  22. 8.0 |   No Ripcord

    Vile has grown leaps and bounds from the brief, lo-fi experiments of his earlier material
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  23. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Even when he's so amiably out-of-focus Vile's melodies remain vivid, his wanders never self-indulgent. Print edition only

  24. 8.0 |   NME

    Shows Kurt Vile's determination to make something of the genius he got for free
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  25. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    This is slow-motion musical quicksand in which it’s worth drowning
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  26. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Less instantly rewarding than its predecessor, 2011’s fantastic Smoke Ring For My Halo, but it’s capable of gifting the listener equal if not greater glee providing they allow it the requisite time to settle
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  27. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    An irresistible distillation of Vile's poetic and beautifully hypnotic songcraft
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  28. 8.0 |   Q

    His songwriting reaches a mesmeric peak. Print edition only

  29. 7.5 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    Vile has added another seemingly effortless 70 minutes’ worth of straightforward, easygoing golden tones to his consistent discography
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  30. 7.0 |   The Quietus

    At 69 minutes, it's expansive and certainly his most ambitious recording yet
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  31. 7.0 |   DIY

    Its meandering ways may endear or annoy in equal measure, but it’s hard to argue that there is a consistency or pure quality to see this album rank alongside its illustrious predecessor
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  32. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    The diverse sound here makes for an off-handed, often aggressive record
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  33. 6.0 |   Rolling Stone

    Vile has let the outside in – even if a basketball-playing dog from an old DVD still proves to be his best inspiration
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  34. 4.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    It drifts by like a train journey through 11 identically featureless suburbs
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Kurt Vile: Wakin On A Pretty Daze

  • Download full album for just £8.49
  • 1. Wakin on a Pretty Day £0.89
  • 2. KV Crimes £0.89
  • 3. Was All Talk £0.89
  • 4. Girl Called Alex £0.89
  • 5. Never Run Away £0.89
  • 6. Pure Pain £0.89
  • 7. Too Hard £0.89
  • 8. Shame Chamber £0.89
  • 9. Snowflakes Are Dancing £0.89
  • 10. Air Bud £0.89
  • 11. Goldtone £0.89
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