Kurt Vile & the Violators @ O2ABC Glasgow, 16 Nov

With six studio albums now to his name, we’re well versed in hirsute rocker Kurt Vile’s grunge-tinted Americana introspections. With latest record b'lieve i’m goin' down pushing even further into the realm of guitar-centred ruminations on the nature of existence, the Philadelphia native and his nonchalant band of Violators have reclaimed pedal-heavy rock for a generation of cogitative millennials.

So just how does Mr Vile translate b'lieve,  a self-described ‘night-time record’ which the singer has explained was predominantly conceived through large periods of chilling out on his couch, into a tangible live act?  For one, this latest record broadens Vile’s instrument cache, making a creative foray into jazz piano and fingerpicked banjo, the latter of which adds a melodic, dust-storm brilliance to set opener I’m An Outlaw.

The frontman is also a deft guitar player; he vivifies the dreamy, illusory Wheelhouse with magnetic lead playing through the outro, and new album favourite Pretty Pimpin is played a step down in tempo in comparison to the recording, creating a perfectly fuzzy, miry ode to personality crisis. The Violators meanwhile are perhaps in possession of the greatest misnomer in rock music. There’s no violence or violating to be had, just an adept shadowing of the leading man, whether in the smooth Wurlitzer keys that accompany Dust Bunnies, or in talented multi-instrumentalist Jesse Trbovich’s sax solo scene-stealer during Freak Train.

What’s more, Vile is a funny dude. His stage presence, or rather deliberate lack thereof, may exasperate those audience members who demand more in the way of rapport, but behind that curtain of hair a droll grin crosses the frontman’s face at frequent intervals. He fumbles about with pedals between songs, and favours a few ironic ‘yips’ and ‘yeeews’ over conversation. Behind the self-conscious reticence though, is a man full of musings; we've listened closely, and we're leaving with a smile tonight too.