Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and company are back again with another stunning release. For the past 30 years, Radiohead (along with their respective side projects and solo releases) have maintained a level of consistency that is hard to be topped. Each member of the band possesses their own unique skill set, allowing them to thrive both individually and collectively.
Radiohead’s last album, the hauntingly gorgeous “A Moon Shaped Pool,” was released in 2016. Since then, the core members have embarked on separate paths, putting their energy toward different avenues of musical expression. But in 2022, Yorke and Greenwood reunited with the addition of Sons of Kemet drummer, Tom Skinner, to create Radiohead spinoff band, The Smile.
Their debut album, “A Light for Attracting Attention,” introduced the band to the world and was met mostly with widespread critical acclaim. The album is imbued with a seamless hybrid of classic Radiohead features and new sonic experimentation that doesn’t veer too far from each individual’s strengths. It has become my favorite Radiohead side project album by a significant margin. How would The Smile follow up their stunning debut?
“Wall of Eyes” is a grower. Upon first listen, I was disappointed. Most of the songs lack Radiohead’s signature cinematic climaxes, and the general tone of this release is rather moody. On top of it all, during my first listen, the eight songs all seemed to blend together. It really was nothing to write home about. In spite of that, my unwavering love for Radiohead and their vast universe left me inclined to give the album repeat listens. And gee-whiz was it worth it.
My fatal flaw during the first listen was that I wasn’t paying very close attention. Given my evolution as a listener, I couldn’t believe I fell back into old habits. Shame on me. Once I paid closer attention to the album, it all clicked. The title track kicks off the album on a subtly strong note. Coated with Greenwood’s vintage string arrangements and prickly guitars as well as Skinner’s pillowy drum patterns, Yorke’s falsetto is given ample room to shine.
Lyrics like, “Down a peg or two / You’ll go / Behind a wall of eyes / Of your own device / Is that still you with the hollow eyes,” and, “Let us raise our glasses to what we don’t deserve / What we’re not worthy of / So rich and wide / To the grains of sand slipping through our hands,” find Yorke in peak form, equally poetic and cryptic.
The ensuing track “Teleharmonic” is for me, undoubtedly, The Smile’s magnum opus in their young career. Drowned in a smothering whirlwind of synths throughout the song’s entire duration, this song lulls you into a hazy trance from its first second. As the song progresses, Yorke’s falsetto once again takes the wheel, this time layered in octaves. Around the two-minute mark, Skinner introduces muffed cymbal hits which increase in frequency and volume, capped off by Greenwood’s simple yet mesmerizing bass line. In the second half of the track, Yorke provides otherworldly harmonies backed by the same instrumentation as the first half, with the volume ticked up a notch and some staggering flutes that add a layer of ethereal beauty. “Teleharmonic” is an instant song of the year contender for me.
“Read the Room” and “Under Our Pillows” find Greenwood and his electric guitar creating similarly jagged, borderline anxiety-inducing melodies, with the latter supplying a fittingly airy instrumental outro to set us up for the remainder of the record.
“Friend of a Friend” is one of the couple outliers of the record with its ever-building skeleton into a gratifying climax. Piano balladry and methodically soft drumming lead you into a bursting crescendo of strings that don’t last nearly long enough.
The album’s first single, “Bending Hectic,” is far and away its longest song, and is another standout in an album full of wonderful moments. Steadily building string sections and eerily patient drums eventually explode into a wall of epic distortion. Yorke’s especially passionate falsetto plays the role of a glorious curtain call on an otherwise subdued sonic experience.
“Wall of Eyes” proved to be a noble step-up from their debut album, with each member putting themselves mildly outside of their comfort zone while simultaneously incorporating their same classic styles which make them so great. Skinner’s jazz upbringings play Robin perfectly with Greenwood’s experimental sonic leanings and Yorke’s especially tender vocals. With each album from The Smile containing vastly different soundscapes, my biggest takeaway can only be to anxiously wait for what else they have in store.
