The Smile

Taking their name from an English poet Ted Hughes verse, the Smile unites Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood with Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner. Their first album, A Light for Attracting Attention, appeared in 2022 and earned widespread praise, followed by a busy 2024 that brought the January release Wall of Eyes and the October arrival Cutouts.

The project originated during the initial sluggish period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The group surprised audiences with a 2021 Glastonbury performance and soon confirmed plans for a studio recording. January 2022 saw the arrival of their opening single, the intricate, guitar-propelled surge of motorik post-punk called "You Will Never Work in Television Again." Six additional tracks preceded the full-length A Light for Attracting Attention, helmed by producer Nigel Godrich. Issued that May, the record merged Radiohead’s jittery tension and spectral elegance with Skinner’s jazz-inflected approach. Later the same year came the concert recording The Smile (Live at Montreux Jazz Festival, July 2022). While touring in support, the trio began shaping a follow-up that surfaced in 2024. Wall of Eyes, overseen by Sam Petts-Davies, ventured further into experimental territory and incorporated the London Contemporary Orchestra along with Robert Stillman on clarinet and saxophone and Pete Wareham on flute. Several months afterward they issued the vinyl-only pair "Don't Get Me Started" backed with "The Slip," both of which appeared on the third album Cutouts, released that October.