If anything, Kurt Vile’s ‘God Is Saying This To You …’ will instantly spark memories of the godfather of low-fi, John Fahey, and though more than half of Kurt’s tracks contain lyrics, they still move as if riding on a gentle ethereal breeze, where you’re barely conscious of them.

Most of the tracks were originally found on Vile’s early CD-R’s, those sold and given out at shows, while other tracks have morphed into all together different songs, and released on later works, with all certainly being recorded prior to his ‘Constant Hitmaker’ album that was introduced in 2008.

On a side note, the songs feature Adam Granduciel, another Philadelphia musician who later went on to form the breathtaking band War On Drugs. In 2009, Mexican Summer released this record as a limited edition of 500 on splatter red and brown vinyl, and then again in 2010 they ushered out another limited edition of 1000 on black vinyl … so no matter how you discover ‘God Is Saying This To You …,’ it’s a gently handled creation of quiet longing, and dreamy passion.

Jenell Kesler

Kurt Vile – God Is Saying This to You… (Mexican Summer, 2009)