b'lieve i'm goin down

Kurt Vile - b'lieve i'm goin down
Critic Score
Based on 35 reviews
2015 Ratings: #250 / 1021
Year End Rank: #25
User Score
Based on 400 ratings
2015 Rank: #187
Liked by 19 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

91
A.V. Club

His sixth album, B’lieve I’m Goin Down…, finds Vile at his most loose and bleary-eyed, with a hazy, vertiginous feel on the darkest and most spontaneous collection of songs he’s released to date.

90
XS Noize

With less of the experimentalism of his previous LP, B’lieve I’m Goin Down is just another example of him displaying his wares and showing his ability as the true modern great that he is.

85
The 405

No one has told the tale of Kurt Vile except Kurt Vile, and there is a diversity of expression on b'lieve I'm goin down.

84
Pitchfork
That he’s hitting his peak as an artist at a time when rock music of the type he practices is falling out of favor and is becoming just another genre instead of the center of the musical universe only adds to his appeal; this is not an artist concerned with being in step.
83
Consequence of Sound

It should come as no surprise that follow-up b’lieve i’m goin down… finds Vile continuing to self-deprecate, amble, and sigh, despite the new tier of success. Neither should it be a surprise that all those qualities remain entirely charming.

83
Pretty Much Amazing

Vile’s music is deeply emotionally evocative, inviting the listener to use their own wild imagination to dissect the shades of joy, sadness, and confusion dotting Vile’s portrait.

80
Exclaim!
It's a dreamy ride through gloom-tinged nu-Americana.
80
Q Magazine
The hardest-working slacker in rock goes from strength to strength.
80
FLOOD Magazine

Vile’s twenty-first century post-folk formula was already gestating long before 2011’s enchantingly moody Smoke Ring for My Halo cut through the distortion, and it’s a testament to the madness of the artist that his method continues to ring true on b’lieve i’m goin down….

80
The Independent
It’s alienation couched in the most genial manner; and along the way, he gets to muse over such matters as speech and silence, mysticism and medicine, relationships and reality, in a beautifully meandering song-cycle.
80
Mojo
This darker edge lends substance to some of Vile's best songs to date.
80
Uncut
As the LP continues, you are progressively engrossed.
80
The Guardian

Vile has charm, character and imagination enough to elevate his fully reclined, dusty-haze style to something really special.

80
The Skinny

That this familiar template still manages to sound so completely compelling is testament to both the malleable nature of his craft and the skill with which it's delivered.

80
DIY
Delivering his most open, captivating work to date, Kurt Vile draws on the wisecracks of ‘Smoke Ring…’ and the fluidity of ‘Wakin’ to present further growth, thankfully unhindered by the influence of pressure.
80
Under the Radar

With b'lieve i'm goin down..., Kurt Vile finally has gotten down to the essence of what he's been searching for since the beginning.

80
musicOMH
While 2013’s effort saw some incredible peaks, Vile’s new album has managed to forge a more consistent collection of songs built around simplicity and a shrugged shoulder approach to lyrics.
80
PopMatters

B’lieve I’m Goin’ Down is a quietly unexpected album. It feels very much like another Kurt Vile album, but close listening—or even not that close—will reveal some serious blues and some complicated dealing with it.

80
AllMusic

B'lieve I'm Goin Down... is an impeccably arranged album beneath its soothing, sleepy surface, with every element assisting in an illusion of deep, shimmering, and alluring melancholy.

80
SPIN

From a purely musical standpoint, Vile’s at his most varied here, dabbling with piano and banjo in places and eschewing the gold-toned guitar that dominated his fifth full-length, 2013’s fawned-over Wakin on a Pretty Daze.

78
Paste

Much of b’lieve remains mellower and more cognizant than Vile’s previous works, blending organic and inorganic sounds.

70
Drowned in Sound

He makes no huge stylistic leap on the album, but instead allows for an organic refinement of his already unique and provocative style. It’s well aware of its influences, and well aware of itself.

70
Spectrum Culture
There’s a nice mix of melancholy and silliness throughout the album, which contributes to the overall feeling of a classic record; it commits to nothing but perfectly crafted tracks that range in emotions, sound and composition.
70
Clash

His latest LP is an endearing collection of slow-burning, dreamy arrangements, which find the singer wistfully contemplating the shifting nature of identity.

70
FasterLouder

b’lieve i’m goin down… is a winding hour of self-reflection that can drift by without much impact. But its textured arrangements and Vile’s sneaky wit very much reward close listening.

70
Slant Magazine

Perhaps a bit too reticent for its own good, B’lieve I’m Goin Down still rewards close listening, steadily developing into an album that’s as multifaceted and profound as its mysterious creator.

70
Rolling Stone
Kurt Vile's most introspective LP is the sound of a guitar hero plumbing existential doubt without wanting to wake the kids.
70
No Ripcord

b’lieve i’m goin down is further evidence of Vile’s conclusive authenticity, and his position as one of songwriting’s most understated commodities.

60
NOW Magazine

Few songwriters’ sonic output is so consistent while also adding depth to a narrow framework. 

60
Crack Magazine

On the whole, B’Lieve I’m Goin’ Down is a more upbeat and polished album than any Vile has released before. It’s also far less compelling.

60
The Needle Drop

Philly singer-songwriter and folk rocker Kurt Vile comes through with a more skeletal, intimate album on B'lieve I'm Goin Down...

60
Tiny Mix Tapes
Just as Kurt Vile the man is being eroded under “Kurt Vile” the homogenized, druggy rockstar, much of the album is eroded under the kind of dusty rock, folk, and Americana that’s been in circulation since the 1970s.
59
Northern Transmissions
Earlier this year, Vile told Spin that this album contained his “best song ever,” but it’s difficult to imagine which track he was talking about, since none of them seem worthy of the distinction.
55
The Line of Best Fit
Throughout the album, Vile questions the world and himself, but, even as he reaches for the profound, the album’s trite lyrics and lack of melody undercut his ambition.
depechemode4lif
82

A great singer songwriter album… I really like the folky stripped back arrangements a lot. I’m really tired. Imma sleep

TheCarioca
92

Pretty Pimpin - 5/5 ❤
I'm an Outlaw - 5/5 ❤
Dust Bunnies - 5/5 ❤
That's Life, tho (almost hate to say) - 5/5 ❤
Wheelhouse - 5/5 ❤
Life Like This - 5/5 ❤
All in a Daze Work - 5/5 ❤
Lost my Head there - 5/5 ❤
Stand Inside - 5/5 ❤
Bad Omens - 4/5
Kidding Around - 5/5 ❤
Wild Imagination - 5/5 ❤
B'lieve I'm Goin Down - 3/5
Bad Omens (No Faders) - 3/5

snarekickblues
78

Pretty Pimpin' is stellar

85

Might need to re listen a few times to get the rating right. Did you know he is 43 and has a wife and kids because I didn't

depechemode4lif
82

A great singer songwriter album… I really like the folky stripped back arrangements a lot. I’m really tired. Imma sleep

Bucket2
95

Such an amazing album. Kurt vile is a very creative and talented guitar player, and he really shows it on this album. There are songs ranging from psychedelic to country to even Ikea store-type piano on Lost my head there. I think the real charm of the music is how on the surface it feels relaxed and lazy, easy to listen to, while it’s actually really complicated and rich. The experience of listening is so full, while simultaneously being just so easy to feel. Some people say that the ... read more

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Added on: July 21, 2015