Culture
15 Feb 22

Kurt Vile & The Violators announce Vicar Street Dublin date, share 'Like Exploding Stones'

The acclaimed musician will play Vicar Street Dublin on Wednesday, 31st August 2022.

Singer-songwriter and producer Kurt Vile has announced a Dublin date on his forthcoming tour to celebrate his highly-anticipated new album (watch my moves), landing on April 15 on Verve Records.

In advance of the release, the album’s first single, 'Like Exploding Stones', is out today with an accompanying music video featuring Sun Ra Arkestra’s James Stewart.

Recorded mainly at OKV Central — Vile’s newly created home studio in the Mount Airy neighbourhood of Philadelphia — (watch my moves) was self-produced along with help from longtime collaborator Rob Schnapf (Richard Thompson, Elliott Smith).

“When Waylon Jennings became an outlaw country artist, he liked to record at Hillbilly Central, which was Tompall Glaser’s studio,” Vile shares. “OKV Central is my version of that in Mount Airy. I’ve come into my own here, and at the same time I’m getting back to my home-recording roots.”

In addition to Schnapf, Kurt Vile’s longtime band, The Violators, and James Stewart, the album features special guests Chastity Belt, Cate Le Bon and percussionists Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint, Courtney Barnett) and Sarah Jones (Hot Chip, Harry Styles).

Across the album’s 15 songs — which includes 14 originals as well as a version of Bruce Springsteen’s 'Wages of Sin' — Vile pulls his talents in unexpected directions. The result is a vibrant, yet meditative album propelled by his trademark laid-back charm and curious spirit.

“It’s about songwriting. It’s about lyrics. It’s about being the master of all domains in the music,” he says. “I’m always thinking about catchy music, even though it’s fried, or sizzled, out. It’s my own version of a classic thing—it’s moving forward and backward at the same time.”

(watch my moves) is Vile’s ninth solo full-length studio album and first since 2018’s Bottle It In.

Vile has collaborated with numerous artists outside of his solo work, including John Prine, Courtney Barnett, The War on Drugs, The Sadies and more and is featured on last year’s compilation, I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico.

Tickets for Kurt Vile's Vicar Street Dublin gig (€35 including booking fee) go on general sale Friday, 18th February at 10am.