When Kurt Vile calls his album Philadelphia's Been Good To Me, who are we to disagree? The Philly icon is always beaming with hometown pride, and he's still doing well for himself. The new full-length, his first since 2022 major-label debut (watch my moves), will be Vile's 10th official LP (including the one with Courtney Barnett). Out in May, it's largely self-produced, mostly in his home studio in Philly's Mount Airy neighborhood.
"This is my ‘bringing it all back home to Philly’ record," Vile says in a press release. "I'm treating it like my last record. I put everything into it. It's my best vocal record. It's my best electric guitar record. It’s my most organic record, made in the comfort of my own zone." He adds, "I’ve been waiting for that kinda natural element to show up again in my recordings, like the old home recording days. I think I finally caught that again, but in a higher fidelity; it’s never overly polished, but it’s still pretty damn shimmery."
Despite the Philadelphia of it all, lead single "Chance To Bleed" features backing vocals from Vile pals from out of town: Memphis garage rock royalty Natalie Hoffman (NOTS, Optic Sink) and Greg Cartwright (Reining Sound, Oblivians), plus Louisville O.G. Ethan Buckler (King Kong, Slint). Cartwright also provides dueling lead guitar with Vile; Kurt is mixed on the left, Greg on the right. Vile describes the sound as "hillbilly techno," but mostly it's just rock with some latent traces of the grimy hip-hop Vile loves. By the time you hear them chanting about "old-time, lo-fi, DIY rock ‘n’ roll nights," you'll probably be hooked. This one's staying in the setlist for the long haul, I suspect.
The "Chance To Bleed" video was filmed at Kung Fu Necktie in Fishtown, and it's full of Philadelphia faces as well as the aforementioned collaborators, plus comedian Jim E Brown and rap legend Schoolly D. Watch below, where you can also find Vile's extensive tour dates.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Zoom 97"
02 "99 BPM"
03 "Rock 'o Stone"
04 "You Don't Know Cuz It's My Life"
05 "Chance To Bleed"
06 "Philly's Been Good To Me"
07 "99th Song"
08 "Red Room Dub"
09 "Every TIme I Look At You"
10 "Piano For Sarah
11 "Avalanches Of Snow"
TOUR DATES:
06/16 - Toronto, ON @ History *
06/17 - Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre *
06/19 - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground *
06/20 - Greenfield, MA @ Green River Festival
06/21 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony (North to Shore Fest) *
06/22 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre *
06/23 - Cleveland, OH @ The Roxy *
06/25 - Detroit, MI @ Saint Andrew's Hall *
06/26 - Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed *
06/27 - Eau Claire, WI @ Blue Ox Music Festival
06/28 - St Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre %
07/01 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom @
07/02 - Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall %
07/03 - Seattle, WA @ 5th Avenue Theatre %
07/05 - South Lake Tahoe, CA @ The Hangar %
07/07 - San Francisco, CA @ The Castro Theater %
07/08 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo %
07/09 - San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park %
07/10 - Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren %
07/11 - Santa Fe, NM @ The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing Co. %
07/13 - Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theatre !
07/14 - Houston, TX @ Heights Theater !
07/15 - Dallas, TX @ Longhorn Ballroom !
07/17 - Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern !
07/18 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium !
07/19 - Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel !
07/20 - Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom !
07/22 - Washington, DC @ Howard Theatre !
07/23 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount !
07/24 - Boston, MA @ Royale !
07/25 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Dell Music Center >$
08/13 - Paredes de Coura, PT @ Paredes de Coura Festival
08/15 - Saint-Malo, FR @ La Route du Rock
08/17 - Hamburg, DE @ Mojo
08/18 - Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
08/21 - Trondheim, NO @ Pstereo
08/23 - Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop
08/24 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
08/25 - Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
08/27 - La Tour-de-Peilz, CH @ Nox Orae
08/28 - Paris, FR @ Rock en Seine
08/29 - Luxembourg, LU @ Den Atelier
08/30 - Köln, DE @ Gloria
09/01 - Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
09/02 - Prague, CZ @ Archa+
09/03 - Berlin, DE @ Huxleys Neue Welt
09/04 - Maastricht, NL @ Zero for Three
09/06 - Dorset, UK @ End of the Road
09/07 - Bristol, UK @ The Crane %
09/08 - Brighton, UK @ Chalk %
09/09 - London, UK @ Troxy %
09/11 - Manchester, UK @ The Ritz %
09/12 - Birmingham, UK @ XOYO %
09/13 - Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 TV Studio %
09/14 - Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street %
09/15 - Leeds, UK @ Project %
11/04 - Buffalo, NY @ Asbury Hall $
11/05 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall $
11/06 - Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall $
11/07 - St. Louis, MO @ The Sovereign $
11/08 - Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall $
11/10 - Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s $
11/11 - Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall $
11/12 - Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room $
11/13 - Fort Collins, CO @ Washington's $
11/14 - Denver, CO @ Summit $
11/16 - Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge $
11/17 - Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall $ #
11/18 - New Orleans, LA @ Joy Theatre $
11/20 - Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club $
11/21 - Charleston, SC @ The Music Farm $
11/22 - Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre $
11/23 - Richmond, VA @ The National
11/24 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar $
* w/ The Sadies
% w/ Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band
@ w/ Alex Amen
! w/ Being Dead
$ w/ Twisted Teens
> w/ Optic Sink
# w/ TAGABOW
Philadelphia's Been Good To Me is out 5/29 via Verve. Pre-order it here.
