Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile discuss their intercontinental friendship
THERE couldn’t be a more perfect musical pairing than Australia’s Courtney Barnett and Philadelphia’s Kurt Vile. Both create slacker- friendly indie rock that bounces between laid-back jams and more expansive guitar freakouts. And they’re both clever songwriters who can make the most mundane topics interesting through an unexpected turn of phrase, a weird vocal tic or a clever joke.
Barnett says the two bonded over simple things at first: “Music, silliness and mutual friends.” That grew into the nine- song album “Lotta Sea Lice,” for which they each covered one of the other’s songs and collaborated on five new originals and two covers. In the midst of the duo’s tour behind the LP, Vile and Barnett discussed their still buddin g friendship.
Q: Why do you think you two work so well together? Courtney Barnett: I’ve always found Kurt’s phrasing and a lot of the way he says stuff funny. Some of it can be a little bit dark and I just find it funny when it’s said in an interesting, kind of roundabout way. Kurt Vile: Yeah, I like to laugh at dark things. Q: What surprised you each the most about the other? Vile: I guess what surprised me, but I hoped it would happen anyway, was how quickly we all of a sudden turned th is corner and had a whole album.
Barnett: It’s a nice surprise how well we got on and we became such good friends. Kurt is such a nice person, even though he pretends not to be.
Vile: Some people think ( I’m not nice) because they don’t know that everything I say is the opposite of what’s true.
Q: That’s going to make deciphering this interview difficult. What’s it like, for you, Courtney, when Kurt sings lead on the new version of your song “Outta the Woodwork?”
Barnett: I love Kurt singing that song. It’s such a huge compliment for him to sing that. He does it real well. It suits his voice and his phrasing.
Q: And what was it like for you, Kurt, when you heard Courtney singing a new take on your song “Peeping Tom?”
Vile: It was awesome. I literally LOLed because I thought it was in a higher key but she’s just singing an octave up, so she’s singing it higher and it’s a little bit slower and it really floats. I thought it was beautiful right away. I was listening to it on a s--ty Bluetooth speaker in Hawaii with my family and I liked it so much I laughed. I wasn’t expecting it. It’s very respectful in a way, not that I even demand respect.
Barnett: I put a lot of love into it.
Q: How has working with the other one changed each of your views on music?
Vile: Every time I play with somebody, your perspective gets a little extended. It always rounds you out a little more in some way.
Barnett: I’m kinda the same, just really open to all these different people and being with Kurt musically. The recording process and this tour is so much fun. It’s been a really big deal for me, so I’m really grateful for it.
Vile: Me too. It will be weird to go back to my regular band.
Q: It sounds like you’ve both gotten a lot out of this.
Barnett: It’s just been a beautiful — I don’t even know how to describe it — it’s been a really great experience.
Vile: Maybe when I go back to my regular band I won’t get as stressed out about things. Maybe it’s like the perfect antidote because you kinda went to this other galaxy. We’ll see. Ask me that again when I’m back. — WP-Bloomberg