When you consider that it’s nine minutes long, one would think that Kurt Vile’s new song “Wakin’ on a Pretty Day” would give more of a taste of what his forthcoming album will be like. Almost sharing the title of its first single, Vile’s fourth album, Wakin on a Pretty Daze, is set for release in April.
Don’t get me wrong — I like the song. Quite a bit, actually, which is why I’ve intently sat through its entire nine minutes quite a few times now. Its relaxed classic rock and clear Tom Petty inspiration is the exact kind of music that you can always be in the mood to have playing. The guitar melody is both soothing and artful, especially near the eight-minute mark. This being said, after roughly five minutes you kind of expect the song to go somewhere — which it never does. It stays its static, pleasant self, leaving the listener feeling a bit … dazed. Ohhh. Now it makes sense.
It’s definitely “prettier” than a lot of the stuff we’ve heard from Vile in the past, perhaps indicating that he’s going to be taking us in a new direction with his future music. Either way, whichever of his tones you prefer — the happier sound of “Wakin on a Pretty Day” or the ambivalent at best sound of hits like “Puppet” — Vile stays consistent in the area that is most important. He is straight-up and raw musical talent.