Courtesy of Danny Cohen
Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett, two of the top indie songwriters of the modern era, have teamed up for a collaborative album due out later this year. They’re hitting the road to support it with a killer band, the Sea Lice, featuring members of Warpaint, Sleater-Kinney and the Violators.
The tour kicks off in October and wraps up in Austin with an ACL Live gig on November 11. Tickets to the show are $37.50-$49.50 and go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
From the press release:
Courtney recalls the seeds of the collaboration:
“In 2014 I scored a support slot opening for Kurt at the Abbotsford Convent [outside Melbourne]. We met briefly after the show but I was a bit nervous and didn’t wanna bother him, just grateful for the gig. Years later we started bumping into each other on the festival circuit all around the wide world and we became friends. He hit me up when he was coming to Melbourne next and said he thought we could work together.”
As Kurt tells it:
“I just love her voice in general… great lyrics of course… I love all her music but the song that really hit me was “Depreston”-I know it’s popular but her voice is so good in that song and it’s so pretty and sincere… i’m a sucker for that kinda song: instant classic.
It started out as, maybe we’ll do a split 7″ together but then I figured let’s make it a 12″ so it doesn’t get lost in the world, shoot for 5 songs. It wasn’t until i had another KV tour booked for the following summer in Oz that we thought we should record as much as we can, just see what happens, no major goal to make it a full length, but it came together that way ’cause the vibe was so strong with everyone.”
For Courtney, the admiration is mutual:
“I’m a huge Kurt fan. Smoke Ring was one of my first purchases on vinyl. I was getting over a big break-up, unemployed and drifting and I would just lie on my bed and listen to ‘Peepin’ Tom’ on repeat. One of the most beautiful and luscious albums I ever heard. Me and Jen fell in love to that album.”
