Smoke Ring for My Halo by Kurt Vile

Smoke Ring for My Halo, Kurt Vile's fourth studio album, drifted out on Matador on March 8, 2011, and it's the record that pulled the Philadelphia songwriter and former War on Drugs lead guitarist out of the fog and into a lot more ears. John Agnello produced it together with Vile and his backing band the Violators, and nobody is in a hurry: guitars loop and chime, reverb hangs in the air like the smoke of the title, and Vile's voice slurs and shrugs instead of reaching for the cheap seats.

He has described it as a wandering record, the kind of thoughts that rattle around your skull late at night when nobody else is awake, and "Jesus Fever" wears that haze beautifully. Critics bit hard: Mojo put it at No. 12 on its top 50 of the year, Uncut at 14 and Pitchfork at 16. A deluxe edition followed that November, with the So Outta Reach EP tacked on.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.