, who admired the unexpected pairing of Swift with
Justin Vernon (pictured), the lead singer of Bon Iver.|alt=|250x250px The song received widespread critical acclaim upon release.
E! Onlines Billy Nilles described "Exile" as a "devastating dream" that "hits like a punch to the gut". Writing for
Consequence of Sound, Matt Melis named "Exile" the Song of the Week upon the album's release, and called the duo's pairing a "minor miracle in 2020". Reviewing for the same publication, Katie Moulton stated that "Exile" portrays a "dissolving" romance with two voices in
counterpoint, and remarked the lyrics as "clever but restrained" with maturity, observing the song's emotions to be "not only high-pitched" but possessing "complex, shifting depths". Christopher Roberts of
Under the Radar included it in his list of the nine best songs of
Folklores release week; he noted that Swift and Vernon's voices "mesh together well" and the latter sounds like
Peter Gabriel on the track.
Jon Caramanica of
The New York Times dubbed "Exile" a "lovely, anguished duet" that acts a "stark and unsettling back and forth of recriminations", with lyrics channeling distance and
skepticism. He complimented the song's climax especially, where Swift and Vernon sing over each other in a style of "hard-whiskey
country, desperate
R&B and
black-box-theater dialogue", making the listeners feel "the full emotional corrosion". Caramanica described the
piano in the song as stern and fatalistic, gonging like
grandfather clocks. Michael Sumsion of
PopMatters proclaimed "Exile" an "obvious standout" on
Folklore, defining it as a mournful examination of dissolution that juxtaposes Vernon's low
bass register with Swift's "mid-range, conversational cadences and sharp-eyed observation to thrilling effect". He noted that the song begins as a "plaintive hush", growing into "a gleaming swarm of
orchestral-
gospel-flavored
testifying that suggests the physical space of a
cathedral", all whilst radiating a rich swell. Sumsion commented that "Exile" could easily fit on
I, I, Bon Iver's fourth studio album.
Los Angeles Times writer Jody Rosen deemed the song a "stormy duet" and "a tortured
call-and-response between estranged lovers", adding that the song hits hard because of its essence of reality. Bobby Olivier of
Spin picked the track as "the grandest highlight" of
Folklore, complimenting the production as a "sweeping, cinematic
panorama". He further named it one of Swift's "most arresting" collaborations to-date and as a "worthy successor" to her 2011 collaboration, "
Safe & Sound".
NPR's Kim Ruehl thought that the song creates a "windswept sonic landscape", conveying "overlapping" sadness and sagacity, atypical of Swift's most radio hits.
The Independent critic Ed Power lauded "Exile" as a
Folklore highlight, boosted by "Swift and Vernon's stormy chemistry"; He underscored the former's "steely earnestness" and the latter's "enigmatic presence", and regarded the song the "
millennial equivalent" of "
Islands in the Stream" (1983) by
Dolly Parton and
Kenny Rogers.
Best-of lists Elle named the song as the second-best of 2020, while ''
Men's Health included it in its ranking of best 25 songs of 2020. NME'' writer Hannah Mylrea placed the song at number 20 on her list ranking all 161 songs by Swift, praising it as one of Swift's most impressive collaborations. Laura Paterson, editor at
Vogue, listed "Exile" as one of the 29 best songs of 2020, and christened it "the melancholic duo that 2020 deserved", merging "an angsty, sing-your-guts-out Taylor anthem" with "mid-2000s nostalgia for the folksy sounds of Bon Iver". Surprised by a Swift-Vernon duet,
NBHAP named the song the eleventh best of 2020, and welcomed Vernon's return to his "pure and deep voice".
Slant named "Exile" as the fourth-best song of 2020.
Complex critic Aia Adriano placed "Exile" at number 4 on her list ranking the best songs of 2020. In August 2022,
Billboard ranked all of Swift's 29 collaborations with other artists, placing "Exile" first. == Commercial performance ==