Kurt Vile does his own myth making; a boy/man with an old soul voice in the age of digital everything becoming something else, which is why this focused, brilliantly clear and seemingly candid record is a breath of fresh air. Recorded and mixed in a number of locations, including Los Angeles and Joshua Tree, blieve Im goin down… is a handshake across the country, east to west coast, thru the dustbowl history (valley of ashes) of woody honest strait forward talk guthrie , and a cali canyon dead still nite floating in a nearly waterless landscape. The record is all air, weightless, bodyless, but grounded in convincing authenticity, in the best version of singer songwriter upcycling. In Kurts words, I wanted to get back into the habit of writing a sad song on my couch, with nobody waiting on me. I really wanted it to sound like its on my couch — not in a lo-fi way, just more unguarded and vulnerable. Its a weird, accepting, mature record, acknowledging the inherent immaturity of being a person whether father, husband , partner, adult, musician, not perfect, but compelling for its understanding thats life though so sad to say Kim Gordon