Back in March, Philadelphia’s Kurt Vile and Australia’s off-kilter songbird Courtney Barnett announced a joint album that might make the head, brain and minds of indie-rock lovers explode Scanners style. Details have emerged and the dry-humored duo’s collaboration, now titled Lotta Sea Lice, will debut in October via Matador Records, Marathon Artists, and Milk! Records.
Vile described what sparked the duo’s studio time in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. “I started spacing out and writing a song for Courtney. I had a fantasy that she would sing it with me.”
As RS outlines, the two acquaintances had a lot in common: both are critical darlings and some of the finest storytellers of today, sharing a sense of deadpan humor through blues-rock, existential jams, and stories about every day oddities. Barnett was open to the idea of a fun side project, after admitting she was “struggling” with writing a follow-up to her debut LP, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit.
Vile then started writing “Over Everything,” the forthcoming lead single that hit streaming services today (video below). Shortly after, Barnett invited him to Melbourne to work on the song, and throughout 2015 and into 2016, the two would regularly convene to record tracks for the project.
Also on the record is “Continental Breakfast,” named after their long-distance friendship, as well as a few covers: duet renditions of Belly’s “Untogether,” “Fear Is Like a Forest,” originally recorded by Barnett’s partner Jen Cloher, and reinterpretations of each other’s songs.
Vile and Barnett are hitting the road this fall backed by The Sea Lice, a band of all-stars featuring Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag), Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint), Rob Laakso (The Violaters, The Swirlies, Mice Parade) and Katie Harkin (Sky Larkin, touring member of Sleater-Kinney and Wild Beasts).
Check out the official video for “Over Everything” below:
Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile – Over Everything (Official Video)
‘Over Everything’ is taken from Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile’s upcoming album ‘Lotta Sea Lice’ || Pre-order: https://lnk.to/CBKVID Out on 13th October 2017 on Milk!
