Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	82/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	B+
The Boston Phoenix
Mojo
NME	8/10
Pitchfork Media	8.4/10
Q
Rolling Stone
Spin	9/10
Uncut

Smoke Ring for My Halo is the fourth studio album by American indie rock musician Kurt Vile, released on March 8, 2011 on Matador Records. A deluxe edition was released in November 2011, including the subsequent EP, So Outta Reach (2011). The album was produced by John Agnello, Kurt Vile and his backing band, the Violators. Regarding the album's lyrical content, Vile stated: "It’s just me and those thoughts you have late at night when nobody is around. It is more a feeling than a statement – a general wandering feeling. It’s kind of a wandering record."

The album was released to critical acclaim upon its release, with Mojo placing the album at #12 on its "Top 50 albums of 2011" list, while Uncut placed the album at number 14 and Pitchfork placed the album at number 16.

Following the release of Childish Prodigy (2009), Vile and his backing band, the Violators, embarked upon an extensive tour, with Vile stating, "There has been a lot of touring and more growing – more than people might know." The tour was the first to feature the full Violators line-up, with Vile noting, "[It was the] first time the full band could come along. We had kind of a shitty rental van and it was the first time we were all together for that long. At points it was like Lord of the Flies, everyone ready to eat each other up, and then we’re suddenly like best friends again. And we still are best friends."

The band subsequently entered the studio with producer John Agnello. Comparing Smoke Ring for Halo's sessions to his previous studio album, Vile stated, "With Childish Prodigy, I had made a whole record not knowing where I was going – it was me in my studio, somewhere between lo-fi and, maybe not super, hi-fi. [...] I wanted to have a concept of this album being a statement as a whole, as opposed a little bit from here and a little bit from there. It shows a kind of introspective folk side more, while still being into rock. It doesn't capture my whole sound, but it captures part of my sound and is more concise as a record."

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