Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile - Lotta Sea Lice

Certainly, Lotta Sea Lice is a cute idea.  Australian Courtney Barnett and American Kurt Vile are justifiably celebrated for the quality of the guitar pop each has created in this decade, so putting them together could be expected to attract the interest of fans of both artists.  Happily, this combination is more than just a cute idea.  It also is a warm, tuneful collection of songs by two artists at the top of their game.  With Courtney and Kurt you expect ace songwriting, and they deliver.  What was less certain was whether the chemistry would be there.  However, these musicians sound completely comfortable with each other, and if you didn't know differently and judged solely on the performances, you would guess that they had spent years playing together.  The delivery is laconic, but that is no act for these two artists.  And while there aren't many pyrotechnics, there is plenty of guitar and an appealing back-porch summer evening vibe to the proceedings.  In fact, it all sounds so easy that it might take you a moment to realize just how good it is.  Take the moment, and then play it again.  You'll probably want to take it home with you.

For Lotta Sea Lice, Courtney and Kurt received assistance from Mick Turner, Jim White, Stella Mozgawa, Rob Laakso, Mick Harvey, Jess Riberio, Jade Imagine, Bones Sloane, Dave Mudie, and Alex Landragin.

Lotta Sea Lice is out now via Milk! Records and Matador Records.







Website for duo
Bandcamp for Lotta Sea Lice (Milk! Records)
Matador Records page for Lotta Sea Lice
Facebook for Courtney Barnett
Facebook Kurt Vile




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