Kurt Vile: Smoke Ring for My Halo [MATADOR]

Why you'll love it

This Matador pressing comes with a lyrics insert and printed inner sleeve. Mojo, Uncut and Pitchfork all put it in their top 20 albums of 2011.

This edition

• Lyrics insert
• Printed inner sleeve

About the album

Kurt Vile once described this as a wandering record, the sound of thoughts you have late at night when nobody's around. After touring Childish Prodigy hard with his band the Violators, the Philadelphia songwriter wanted a whole-album statement, and he got one.

Producer John Agnello cut most of it at the Magic Shop in New York and Water Music in Hoboken, with "Jesus Fever" and "In My Time" started in Philly with Jeff Zeigler. The fingerpicked guitars ripple, the vocals drawl, and the songs drift along like a slow afternoon. "Baby's Arms" opens softly, "Jesus Fever" hums along on a lovely loop, "Peeping Tomboy" and the title track lean into his introspective folk side, and there's a hidden track at the end of side B for anyone who lets the needle run.

When Matador heard the first version, the label pointed out it had no rockers, so Vile went back and recorded "Society Is My Friend" and "Puppet to the Man," the latter co-written with Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs. Rarely has a note from the record company been taken quite so graciously.

Also at Kops: more Kurt Vile on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Matador (cat# OLE-938-1), a reissue of the 2011 album.