Kurt Vile turns out ‘fried or sizzled out’ rock tunes

Kurt Vile says he’s always thinking about making catchy music — yet his attempts usually end up sounding fried or sizzled out.

It’s an apt description of this Philadelphia-based songwriter and guitarist’s vibe, amiable and hypnotic, the songs alone seemingly capable of producing a contact high. Vile’s new disc, his ninth, marks a professional turning point if not a musical one.

After years where Vile was the quintessential indie rock artist, his new “(watch my moves)” is being marketed and distributed by Verve Records, a label best known for its jazz heritage and Jon Batiste’s recent Grammy-winning album.

“It’s not as much of an outlier as people would think,” said Jamie Krents, the label’s chief executive. “Verve was Velvet Underground’s home. I’m a huge Kurt Vile fan so him signing to Verve has been incredibly meaningful to me.”

Vile said he was searching for a new recording home, and the timing was right when Verve approached him.

“I like that it’s not an indie rock label,” he said. “I like to be connected to classic jazz things. It’s just a label anyway, literally and metaphorically.”

The association has done nothing to change his music. If anything, “(watch my moves)” looks more inward, reflecting a time that Vile was home with his wife and two daughters during the pandemic and recording in a newly-built home studio.

He’s a strong-willed dad. His daughters, ages 9 and 11, are home-schooled (his wife is a former teacher) and he keeps them away from phones or other screens.

“I was happy to live a normal life and be a normal dad,” he said. “I was missing something. Turns out we were all missing something, missing just being a normal dad who was there everyday.”

New songs such as “Like Exploding Stones” and “Hey Like a Child” offer a spaced-out sound behind Vile’s deadpan vocals, often said as much as sung.

Lyrically, Vile “often will just narrate the contents of his head,” critic Kitty Empire once wrote. Describing, as he does at one point, “playin’ in the music room in my underwear,” verges on too much information. He opens “Say the Word” with a description: “I wrote the words to this song drivin’ from Philly to Amherst.”

You can feel the satisfaction when he talks about taking a trip to a gig where he supports an artist he’s frequently been compared to.

“Gonna open up for Neil Young,” he sings. “Man, life can sure be fun. Imagine if I knew this when I was young.”

Jack Plunkett / Associated Press Kurt Vile’s ninth album, “(watch my moves),” was released earlier this month.