Artist: The Smile
Album: A Light for Attracting Attention
Label: XL
Released: May 13, 2022
Buy: Official Store
See: The Smile on Tour | Dates
Six years and five days on from the arrival of the most recent Radiohead long player (2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool), two-fifths of the band (Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood) have consummated their musical partnership with drummer Tom Skinner of the much-lauded UK Jazz outfit Sons of Kemet with A Light for Attracting Attention, the trio’s debut album as The Smile.
Simultaneously a vehicle for dusting off previously unreleased material (Yorke first performed album standouts “Open the Floodgates” and “Skrting on the Surface” back in 2009) and a vessel for collaborative experimentation of the most intriguing order, the band’s inaugural affair is an engrossing and inspired experience that reveals new dimensions and instrumental nuances upon each subsequent listen.
And while Yorke’s inimitable falsetto and Greenwood’s inventive guitarwork are in mighty fine form throughout the entirety of the album, it is Skinner’s percussive acumen and versatility that truly elevates and invigorates the Nigel Godrich-produced A Light for Attracting Attention well beyond “just another Radiohead side project” fare.
Put your headphones on, turn down the lights, shut off your phone, close your eyes and truly invest (and indulge) in discovering this stunner of an album, destined to be revered as one of the year’s very best.
Listen to A Light for Attracting Attention below, watch the official videos, and let us know what you think of the album in the comments section below!
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