Here’s a contentious statement: “Freak Train”, the fourth track on Kurt Vile’s Childish Prodigy is one of the best rock and roll songs of the last year.  It chugs along like a train and has some great Husker Du-inspired fuzzed out guitar riffs, echo-laden vocals in that kinda-sorta Lou Reed way, and the song is just about perfect.  Who cares if there really isn’t a melody or a discernable chorus? The song just works.

If that doesn’t completely turn you off to Childish Prodigy, please check out the album.  Vile combines a bit of the Springsteen rock and roll charm with the nonchalant indie songwriting and comes up with a winner of an album that isn’t afraid to be sweet when necessary and not afraid to be noisy all of the time.

Childish Prodigy just feels like someone’s home recording project. But instead of one offs and pocket symphonies, these are neat little sketches of rock and roll songs that sound great in their own right.  What else do we have to do to convince you to run out and buy this album?

Kurt Vile on the web