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May 24, 2011It's a record with a folky, sometimes psychedelic edge, but it's never self-indulgent or less than focused. In fact, Smoke Ring for My Halo is persuasive evidence that Vile has come fully into his own as a songwriter and musician.
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Q MagazineMay 18, 2011Dark, often opaque, but also full of emotion, this is a gem. [May 2011, p.127]
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Apr 28, 2011Smoke Ring For My Halo might not be for everyone, but it will definitely find a wider audience than anything else in Vile's catalogue.
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The WireApr 28, 2011The songwriting is strong.
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MojoApr 22, 2011Vile's no relic-treasuring throwback, finding a unique, laconic voice of his own among the tangle. [Apr 2011, p.95]
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UncutMar 29, 2011The real heart of this record seems to lie in moments of stillness and rest, where strung-out slackerdom attains an almost sacred quality. [Apr 2011, p.88]
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Under The RadarMar 23, 2011Here's hoping there's more where this came from. [Feb. 2011, p. 69]
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Mar 17, 2011Vile has slyly written pop that enters one's head without leaving much of a permanent mark; instead of a distraction from one's deeper woes, it's chameleonic accompaniment.
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Mar 17, 2011The success, and devil, of Smoke Ring is in the details, however, as the tunes prove intricately textured while still retaining an inherently garage feel, unraveling new elements as they sink in with lethargic weight.
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Mar 14, 2011It's easy to see Smoke Ring being remembered as the stepping stone to a transcendent piece of work in Vile's discography.
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Mar 14, 2011Vile has -- to paraphrase something that David Foster Wallace said -- his own way of fracturing reality, and it's so true that you'll feel it in your nerve endings.
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Alternative PressMar 11, 2011With an occasional chest-bursting "yeeeeeeah", Vile avoids letting his most straightforward, circular songs fall into a stupor. [Apr 2011, p.115]
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Mar 10, 2011To the uninitiated, this kind of '70s-inspired thrum-rock might sound a bit AOR, but given time it reveals its nuances, placing Vile somewhere between a rougher-edged M. Ward and a bluesy Ariel Pink.
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Mar 9, 2011Though it may seem like Vile tends to waver on just how he wants to be perceived, the lack of commitment is nothing if not intensely deliberate.
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Mar 9, 2011Smoke Ring For My Halo is a repetitive album in the best possible sense, even if some of Vile's distinctive sound was shorn off along with the fuzz.
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Mar 9, 2011This record moves from cautious shine to swirling dark, showing all sides of the dubious kind of redemption hinted at in the album's title, but nothing is ever lost in these layers.
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Mar 8, 2011The result is Vile's best record to date, an idiosyncratic amalgam of intimate performance and communal expression - and one that continues to reveal new layers upon repeated listens.
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Mar 8, 2011I'm more than happy to take this album as it is, blemishes and all.
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Mar 8, 2011Vile's music is inflected with a special kind of magic, which makes it sound grimy while remaining melodically clean, bored and disinterested while granting you its full attention.
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Mar 8, 2011It's fair to say Smoke Ring...'s reliance on gloom and loneliness rarely lets up. But he's trying to find beauty in it, which I guess is the point.
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Mar 8, 2011A personal, private fourth LP from the Philadelphia native and select pals.
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Mar 8, 2011As much as one would assume that times have changed, Vile is able to supplement his strengths with newfound diversity and very simply, delivers a formidable sophomore album.
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Mar 8, 2011On Vile's fourth LP, the stoner haze lifts a bit, and he settles on a mood: chilled-out but guarded, and wrapped in gorgeous folk-blues guitar-picking.
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Mar 7, 2011He's mastered the tuneful shrug, the song that sounds unfinished and tossed off but sticks fast to your brain and keeps revealing a depth you hadn't noticed.
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Mar 7, 2011In an age where angst is delivered with the subtlety of a laser light show, it's nice to hear some good, old-fashioned, smokin'-and-drinkin'-cheap-beers-on-the-porch-with-your-friends-style pessimism.
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Mar 7, 2011The overall impression is of gloomy landscape paintings with a spooky, residual feeling that God might be hiding behind every cloud or passing tumbleweed - electrifying.
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Mar 7, 2011Whether he's channeling the energies of John Fahey or Tom Petty or even Bob Seger, Smoke Ring makes clear that the end result is his alone.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 26 out of 30
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Mixed: 3 out of 30
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Negative: 1 out of 30
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Nov 3, 2011
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Nov 22, 2021
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May 29, 2011