Smoke Ring for My Halo (Bonus Track Version)

iTunes Review

Smoke Ring for My Halo is Kurt Vile's fourth full-length release done in a “proper” studio and while the production is certainly cleaner than his lo-fi D.I.Y. days it’s hardly slick. But the improved sound quality allows his music, and especially his lyrics, to shine through easily. This album features well-crafted and focused songs filled with effortless hooks, elaborate melodies, and intriguing lyrics. With a voice that’s somewhere between a street tough and a slacker, or a slightly more animated Lou Reed, he tosses out wry lines such as this one from “Peeping Tomboy”: “I don’t wanna give up, but I kinda wanna lie down, but not sleep, just rest.” A skilled and inventive guitar player, Vile performs nimble acoustic finger-picking (“Baby’s Arms,” “Peeping Tomboy”), strums soulfully (“Jesus Fever”), and fires off gritty electric licks (“Puppet to the Man,” “In My Time”) while backed by his band, the Violators. There’s a vague and endearing strangeness about this album (and Vile’s music in general) that’s hard to pin down. Smoke Ring for My Halo is as infectious as it is perplexing.