When “The Smoke”, the song with the piercing 70s bassline, conquered the radio landscape two years ago, there was speculation for a while about who could be behind it. But his falsetto singing ultimately gave Thom Yorke away. The project name? Would rather refer to the smile of the person you’re talking to who lies to your face every day. So, as always, just around the corner.
The Smile is the first GbR that Yorke founded outside of Radiohead with his musical partner Jonny Greenwood. The trio is completed by drummer Tom Skinner, known from Sons Of Kemet for his twisted, jazz-oriented rhythms. And apparently this is Yorke’s current favorite playground, because after the debut, “A Light For Attracting Attention” from May 2022, he is already producing the successor. And “Wall Of Eyes” is no less a celebration of bizarre beauty.
A celebration of bizarre beauty
“So, so beautiful!” are the comments that producer Sam Petts-Davies (already an engineer on Radiohead’s “A Moon Shaped Pool”) receives on the Internet. We only have seven new pieces left – but with the exception of “Friend Of A Friend”, a short excursion to the 1970s Beatles with fine string arrangements by the London Contemporary Orchestra, which also dominates “I Quit”, all tracks achieve this Five minute limit.
“Bending Hectic” staggers for a full eight – first gently and quietly and finally as a musical super-monster towards an imaginary outcome. “Teleharmonic” can already be described as a Yorke/Greenwood classic, with sacred backing vocals and another interesting bassline. In The Smile, Greenwood plays guitar, bass, Moog and Rhodes and works with delay effects.
“Read The Room” again serves fans of psychedelic components. Yorke becomes increasingly pleading and desperate and escapes into a harmonious Sixties Bridge. “Under Our Pillows” follows as a work-out in math rock, including trace elements of King Crimson. The success story of Thom Yorke is enriched by a wonderful chapter. “Wall Of Eyes” is certainly not his most accessible work, but it is certainly not his most complicated either. Simply put: “So, so beautiful!”