Barnett & Vile make playful duo
In many ways, “Lotta Sea Lice” is the soundtrack to Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile’s friendship.
It provides a voyeur’s glimpse at two artists, armed with guitars and some studio time, just cutting loose. Listening to the record is like walking in on a pair of buddies settled on a back porch as they strum away and soak in some afternoon sun.
Across the record’s nine tracks, the casual, playful nature of Barnett and Vile’s collaboration is reinforced with the inclusion of incidental noises — an unexpected phone ring, an eruption of spontaneous laughter — the pair chose not to edit out.
Taking things too seriously was never on the agenda.
“We didn’t have any big goals or plans or anything,” Barnett says of the recording process. “We were just having fun piecing these songs together.”
“We were hopped up on goofballs,” Vile quips.
The duo recently made their live debut Oct. 8, the last day of this year’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival, composed of cuts from their new record as well as songs from their respective solo catalogs.
“I was really nervous because everything went wrong during sound check and it was our first gig,” Vile says. “But it felt good after. People said they liked it.”
“It was such a good vibe,” Barnett adds. “That festival is just all these happy faces looking up at you in the sun. It was kind of impossible not to have a good time.”
Less than two weeks later, Vile and Barnett hope to do it again, this time for fans at Oakland’s Fox Theater on Wednesday, Oct. 18.
Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Barnett grabbed the music industry’s attention with her 2015 album, “Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit,” which earned her a Grammy nomination for best new artist. Her impassive delivery and fantastically astute lyrics also resonated with Vile, who struck up a long-distance correspondence with her after she opened for him at Abbotsford Convent in Australia.
Vile, who formerly served as the lead guitarist for rock outfit the War on Drugs, had already established himself as a formidable solo artist with a string of records flavored by his distinctive brand of Neil Young-tinged slacker folk. Together the two started trading ideas.
“The original plan was to do one song, and maybe do a second one if we had enough time,” Barnett says.
Eventually, over the course of two years, two songs became nine.
“We did 10 songs total,” Vile clarifies, “but (the cover of ) ‘Blueberry Hill’ was so good that we had to leave it off.”
Opener “Over Everything” — the first song they worked on together — finds Vile and Barnett trading songwriting tips over an unhurried twang of guitars. On “Continental Breakfast,” they reflect on the world-weary nature of always being on the move.
The album also finds Barnett and Vile covering each other, with the former adding an acoustic, more introspective touch to Vile’s “Peepin’ Tom” and the latter offering a bluesy, drawn-out take on Barnett’s “Out of the Woodwork” (offered on the new record with the more Vile-appropriate title “Outta the Woodwork”).
One track listeners should not expect to hear on this album is the traditional love duet that often results when two musicians of the opposite sex team up.
“I was thinking about that the other day,” she says. “I was in my car and ‘Islands in the Stream’ came on.”
Immediately Vile cuts in, eager to recall the song’s performers.
“Oh, you know,” she replies, before singing the chorus. “Islands in the stream/ That is what we are. It’s Dolly Parton and what’s his name?” “Kenny Rogers!” Vile booms. It’s an exchange that perfectly encapsulates two talents that clearly adore each other, even if they aren’t writing songs about it.
“I think duets are always a little lovey,” Barnett says.
Plus, as Vile says, “We’re still having fun, just being dumb.”