Kurt Vile, the laid back indie shredder, has built an expansive repertoire featuring sprawling guitar riff based soundscapes that serve as the background for introspective, funny and charming lyrics. Vile’s latest addition to his discography came in November 2023 with Back to Moon Beach. Marking his 13th release since 2008, he has cemented himself into the pantheon of indie legends and guitar heroes. Across these many releases, one element of Vile’s songwriting has been at the cornerstone of every track: repetition.
Examining his discography, it can be seen that repetition is a common theme for lyrics and the structure of his songwriting. Songs written by Vile are often built around one or two riffs or chord progressions that repeat throughout the whole track. Here’s a look into Vile’s use of, and admiration of repetition throughout his career.
Starting with the titular song from his last release, the song “Back to Moon Beach” is an 8 minute long meditation over a loop of four chords that sound as if they’re gliding away from the track. The title itself opens up a deeper intertextual reference to Vile’s second album God Is Saying This to You…, which contains the song “Beach on the Moon (Recycled Lyrics).” The song is exactly what it sounds like it is, which is a song composed of lyrics from other tracks he had written. 14 years later, Vile revisits this moon beach concept on this track.
An occasional rhythmic variation in the strumming or an arpeggiation breaks up the textures of the chords, making the canvas of this song more detailed than one may assume. The lead guitar is a plucky sounding clean guitar, following a very subtle way of playing that contributes to the track in a way that a guitarist like Robbie Robertson of The Band may. As Vile seemingly stumbles across his words, often repeating the beginning of sentences before getting the full phrase out, psychedelic harmonicas build on the reverb-y world he builds.
Vile sings: “There’s a beach on the moon/Where these recycled riffs ain’t going anywhere, anytime soon.” This line isn’t the first time he’s worn his love for repetition on his sleeve. As many artists talk about keeping things “fresh” or trying to avoid monotony, Vile openly embraces it. What does it mean to embrace repetition as an artist? In Vile’s case, it shows a mastering of a truly unique style. From his delivery of lyrics to his jerky, stumbling-in-the-pocket lead guitar, there’s nothing quite like Vile’s sound. Sure, the influence of John Prine and Neil Young can be traced, but those two have influenced anyone who plucks an acoustic guitar and sings a folk song.
While listeners can try to make sense of why an artist would embrace repetition, Vile actually explains this songwriting philosophy throughout his discography. The line about “these recycled riffs ain’t going anywhere” suggests he makes music for himself, and is not worried about whether or not a listener will grow wearisome of long tracks. Vile’s not going anywhere soon, nor are his repeating riffs. As a musician he’s found his songwriting flow that allows for his talents as a guitarist to shine through, which is what many artists strive to do as songwriters.
An aspect of Vile’s music that further contributes to its genuine creativity and simplicity is that his lyrics often describe exactly how he feels about his songwriting style. Not only does he repeat things, he just plainly says what’s on his mind. In that way, it’s truly meditative. He is present, focusing on the one thing that comes to his mind, much like a person practicing mindfulness or doing yoga would.
In the song “One Trick Ponies” from the 2018 album Bottle It In, Vile sings the lyrics: “Some are one trick ponies but we embrace ’em/’Cause I’ve always had a soft spot for repetition.” These lyrics serve as a sort of preemptive response to the criticism of repetitive music. Vile recognizes that to some, he could be viewed as a one trick pony. He responds right back saying he embraces one trick ponies, and that he’s always had a soft spot for repetition. It’s clear Vile understands what works for him as a songwriter and that repetition is not a cop-out for lack of musicality, but a preferred method of creating.
Finally, the song “Dandelions” from his 2020 EP Speed, Sound, Lonely KV is another great example of quintessential Vile songwriting that gives a peek into his unique love of repetition. For the entire 6 minute and 35 second runtime the base of the song is a finger picked acoustic guitar pattern that switches back and forth between two chords. Vile’s knack for songwriting can be clearly seen on this track as the repetition of the two chords never grows boring or redundant. His creativity as a guitarist is evident as the riff is expanded with quick licks and variations that keep the song fresh. In the lyrics of the song, Vile’s riffing philosophy can be described by the lines: “Sure I like trying, Coming up with something a little extra curricular/But a lot of the time it’s, It’s the simple things in life that do.” Clearly, Vile doesn’t care to write off more intricate songwriting, but in his corner of music, it’s the simple things in life that do.