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, b lieve I m 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 Kurt s 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 it s on my couch -- not in a lo-fi way, just more unguarded and vulnerable.