Kurt Vile Announces New Album + Says He’s Written His ‘Best Song Ever’

Kurt Vile has announced he will return with a new album following his critically acclaimed fifth LP, 2013’s Wakin on a Pretty Daze.

The forthcoming LP has yet to receive a release date or title, but Vile opened up about its making during a recent interview with Spin. He offered a little insight into what sound can be expected, calling it “dark,” “late-night” and saying, “There’s a little sad, and a little love.”

The indie-folk singer-songwriter – who produced the album himself with the help of bandmate Rob Laakso – recorded the album in part at Rancho de la Luna in Joshua Tree. And according to Vile, the space’s “vibey” nature helped inspire much of the album, even helping him write one of his “favorite songs ever.”

“At first there were definitely challenges because you want to play live but there’s only this one backroom and everything bleeds into everything else,” he explained, adding, “so essentially I was just playing in this little closet room, but I recorded one of my favorite songs ever.”

"Everybody went to bed and I couldn't sleep,” he continued. “I kept listening and then the sun came up and all of a sudden I just looked around me and I could see everything for miles and I was like, 'Man, I just recorded my best song ever and I'm here in the middle of nowhere in the most beautiful, mystical, magical desert.'"

"It's got the pretty finger-pickers, it's got the electric song, it's got piano songs, which I haven't really had, there are banjo songs," Vile added. "It's all over the place. Everything you can imagine I've done ... that's where I'm at now, that I can sort of tap into every world and make it cohesive."