s="h3color tiny">This review is from: Wakin On A Pretty Daze (Audio CD)

   To be honest, I was somewhat underwhelmed by Kurt Viles' last album, "Smoke Ring For My Halo". There were a couple of songs that completely wowed me ("In My Time" and the title track) but I didn't care as much for the rest of it. To my way of thinking, that album sounded like a talented guy finding his way musically who maybe wasn't there yet. But based on what I saw as Vile's potential from those songs I liked so much, I decided to give his newest one "Wakin On A Pretty Daze" a try.I'm pretty much wowed by this one from start to finish. It is without a doubt the best thing I have heard this year so far, and one of the more amazing records I've heard in a long time!This time Vile uses a full band sound throughout, and the lengthy tracks allow the songs to stretch out a bit. And they stretch out into some pretty far-reaching places.The moods range from a dreamy meditation on love and responsibility ("Too Hard") to an uptempo driver brimming with...Read more