Matador

For his stunning second Matador full-length, lo-fi Philadelphian Kurt Vile continues to transcend his home recording past with a streamlined sense of clarity that pulls from years reared on both college and classic rock radio. Produced by renowned indie auteur Joe Angello, Smoke Ring for My Halo exhibits a streetwise earthiness that recalls Lou Reed at his most reflective and Thurston Moore at his solo mellowest, evident on songs like the tough, mid-tempo guitar groove of “Puppet To the Man” and the jangle-driven psych-folk of the illuminating title cut. “I don’t wanna work, but I don’t wanna sit around,” Vile laments on “Peeping Tomboy” as though he aims to become the voice of his generation.