Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile

Lotta Sea Lice

BY Corey HendersonPublished Oct 13, 2017

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At the heart of the best bands is a sense of collaboration and togetherness, and on their first record together, Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile explore those themes through intertwining vocals, endless vibes and grooves and, of course, tons of guitars.
 
A constant throughout the whole record is a sense of endlessness, like on album opener "Over Everything," where Vile's vocals run into Barnett's, which run into the lead line on the guitar and back into vocals all over again. Many moments like this on the record continue looping again and again, getting a little wilier with each pass until the whole song is one blissed-out jam session. Then there's "Continental Breakfast," a warm and goofy treatise on friendship and self-consciousness; the jangly tune shows off the lovely harmonies between Vile and Barnett.
 
The collaboration even reaches into each artist's past catalogue, with Kurt Vile ripping a cover of Barnett's "Outta the Woodwork" and Barnett giving her take on Kurt Vile's "Peeping Tomboy" on stark solo guitar. Lotta Sea Lice feels like two old friends getting together for coffee.
(Matador Records)

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