Back to Moon Beach - Kurt Vile (2023)

By Leo Raykher (Class of ‘93)

Kurt Vile released his sleepy new album “Back to Moon Beach” on November 17. Only a year and a half after “Watch My Moves”, this is a shorter break than the usual 3 years between albums Vile takes. Unlike “Watch my Moves”, which was one of his most electronic, psychedelic records, “Back to Moon Beach” is exceedingly slow and acoustic. The record relies mostly on simple acoustic guitar, piano, and drum arrangements, harkening back to his earlier work that put Vile on the map.

While I personally loved “Watch my Moves” and the synthy, reverberating guitar that defined that album, I’m as big of a fan of the slow, stripped down sound of “Back to Moon Beach”. As in most of his work, mental illness and fatigue are major themes throughout the record. While in the past much of Kurt’s work has been about celebrating the bright moments in life (Walking on a Sunny Day) or appreciating his friends (One Trick Ponies), Back to Moon Beach is a tired, beleaguered album. And that’s not a bad thing! But the darker, worn out tone is a departure from much of the more optimistic work that defined his earlier career. I hope he’s doing okay.

Most of the songs on the album run at least five minutes, allowing ample room for sections punctuated with sparse piano and repeated lyrical phrases. While heavily advertised and even featured in a music video with Michael Shannon, I think “Another good year for the roses” is one of the weaker tracks on the album, and never really finds the bouncing groove a good Kurt Vile song excels at. If there were one song to sum up the successes of this album, it would be “touched something (caught a virus)”. The guitar beautifully blends with the piano, drums, and Vile’s soft warbling to form a slow, methodic anthem that captures exhaustion in a way few other songs have been able to manage. “Like a wounded bird trying to fly” (yes, the titles are a little wordy) is another standout, a blues inspired jaunt where Vile spins a yarn about his “railroad man” daddy.

Kurt Vile has always been a somewhat divisive artist. I think you either get him, and find the charming artistry in his simple riffs and his intense Philadelphia twang, or you dislike him for those reasons exactly. I am a self-confessed Kurt Vile apologist, and I think other apologists out there will love this record. For those less interested in him, I don’t think this is his most digestible work, and would recommend 2018’s Bottle It In or 2013’s Walking on a Pretty Daze.