Constant Hitmaker | ||||
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Studio album by Kurt Vile | ||||
Released | 2008 | |||
Recorded | 2003–2007 | |||
Genre | Indie rock, lo-fi | |||
Length | 41:16 | |||
Label | Woodsist Records, Gulcher Records | |||
Producer | Kurt Vile, Adam Granduciel, Brian McTear | |||
Kurt Vile chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Pitchfork | (7.2) |
Constant Hitmaker is the debut studio album by American indie rock musician Kurt Vile, released in 2008 on Gulcher Records and Woodsist. Self-produced, and recorded between 2003 and 2007, the album is primarily composed of lo-fi home recordings that Vile had previously issued on CD-R.
Following the album's release, Vile stated that Constant Hitmaker is "like a best-of, sort of, but leaning toward the psychedelic pop stuff, kind of my later material."
The majority of the album's tracks are home recordings, however, the album's opening track, "Freeway", was recorded at Miner Street studios with producer Brian McTear. Vile noted, "We were doing "Freeway" live — me and my buddy Adam at the time — and the live show was going good, and on that version we'd play along to the drum machine and blast guitars. [...] I'd done home recordings a lot and I was like, ‘I need to go in the studio.’" The song was recorded on July 6, 2006 by Vile, Granduciel and drummer "Cousin" Dan Bower, with Vile noting, "I remember I worked as much as possible to save up for the studio session."
According to Vile, '"Don’t Get Cute" I recorded when my wife was away. I was hanging with my friends and we stayed up all night to get it done, and then drove to see a show in New York the next night with no sleep. And "Slow Talkers" — I was definitely kind of out of my mind." The track, "Classic Rock in Spring", is influenced by the changing of the seasons, with Vile noting, "I wrote that song “Classic Rock In Spring” when spring started and I started feeling good again after winter. I feel like songs are written at particular times, and it definitely comes across as that certain way. In the winter, you can write some darker songs, but it does depend on what's going on at the time."
Regarding the album's lo-fi aesthetic, Vile noted, "[the album] has songs that maybe if you don't normally listen to that stuff, you'd think were a bit throwaway because of the recording quality."