“Classic Love” - A Future Longtime Classic?
The new EP from Philadelphia’s self-described ‘constant hitmaker’
In the heart of the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, just under the Market Street Elevated (‘the el’ as the locals call it), is a mural of text and visual interpretations of songs from a native’s album. That mural alone cements Kurt Vile's place within the city’s culture. Originally from the borough of Lansdowne, Kurt’s career progressed from creating low-fidelity bedroom recordings to the slickest-sounding nuggets from his home studio. Vile’s twist on Americana with psychedelic influence harks back to a time when singer-songwriters like Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young, both of whom are influences on Kurt, took listeners on an aural trip into their unfiltered headspaces. This sound has carried him through a solo career just shy of 20 years and nine full-length albums, mostly on indie giant Matador before signing with the prestigious Verve label.
One of the impressive facets of Kurt Vile’s career is his drive to collaborate with other artists. The scope is varied, ranging from his beginnings as co-founder of The War on Drugs with Adam Granduciel, the collaborative Lotta Sea Lice album with Courtney Barnett, and recording a duet with John Prine. One of Kurt’s artistic comrades is Luke Roberts, a Nashville-based singer-songwriter bearing a similar sound to Kurt’s, yet leaning more into country waters. Vile became infatuated with a Roberts-penned track called “Classic Love,” a song which he described as ‘the epitome of a song that belonged on the radio.’ On Kurt Vile’s new EP, Classic Love, he and Luke collaborated to bring the song to a wider demographic.
Classic Love’s title track is the EP’s centerpiece. Luke’s original version, with Kurt providing a sing-along vocal overdub, opens the A-side. The song is an exercise in pure ear candy, utilizing three chords and an infectiously memorable vocal melody. Both Roberts’ and Vile’s mellow vocals share similar tonalities, summoning the ghost of Lou Reed, and blend nicely. Kurt’s rendition of the song with his backing band on the aptly labelled ‘KV version’ of the song opens the B-side. He reworks the track into his mold by turning it into a meandering jam with finger-picked acoustics and spacey synthesizers.
Classic Love makes way for one of Kurt Vile’s newly written originals, “Hit of the Highlife.” When it comes to compositional variety, this is one of the more radically different tracks in Vile’s never-ending arsenal of material. Instead of residing in familiarized musical territory, this comes across as an ethereal trance with airy synthesizers. Kurt and Luke trade off vocal duties in a Bob Dylan stream-of-consciousness style. “Slow Talkers ‘22” is a re-recording of a track that appeared on Vile’s debut, Constant Hitmaker. Aside from being a polished-sounding upgrade to the lo-fi original, his vocal delivery is looser and more confident. The EP rounds off with a cover of Beach House’s “Wildflower.” Kurt avoids replicating the lush keyboard-centered dream pop aesthetic of the original version and makes it his own with chorus-soaked acoustic guitars.
Me with Kurt during a record signing at the Philadelphia Record Exchange on 7/22/25
Music aside, the rootsy element of Classic Love is also evident in the cover art, being a cropped photo of a sunset peeping through branches and leaves. The uncropped version appears on the back cover, along with a shot of Kurt and Luke together. Center labels consist of a colored variation of the classic ‘T’ Verve label on the A-side, and the cover photo on the B-side. Although only available on black vinyl at record retailers, the orange variant is exclusive to Kurt’s webstore.
Note the personalization alluding to my YouTube channel; so cool!
Each song on Classic Love varies sonically to allow for certain angles of the sonic spectrum to shine through. Luke Roberts’ original version of the title track comes across as rounded and soft-sounding, lacking high-frequency sizzle. The different acoustic guitar parts panned between both channels create a wonderfully textured soundstage, and the Fender Rhodes meshes incredibly within the instrumental palette. Adam Langellotti’s bass work ranges from sounding drone-like on “Hit of the Highlife” to having a percussive thump on Kurt’s reinvention of the title track. “Slow Talkers ‘22” is so stripped down arrangement-wise that it sounds as if he’s finger-picking his way in your listening room. Between Kurt’s rich vocal and the subtle synths on “Wildflower,” the EP’s finale is pleasingly atmospheric.
Classic Love is a prime opportunity for fresh listeners to become acquainted with Luke Roberts’ radio-friendly songs, and serves as another interesting addition to Kurt Vile’s growing discography. Its brevity will hold devoted listeners over until Vile’s next full-length is reported to come next year.
