Leave it to Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood to have a side project that’s also as extraordinary as the other. Along with legendary jazz drummer Tom Skinner, the trio’s second album proves they can still weave magic on their own terms.
The reason Wall Of Eyes so beguiles is the capricious nature of the songs. They may start off one way, but unfurl and blossom like flowers. Friend Of A Friend is one such example. It’s soft and lilting initially, almost in Neil Young mode, but it implodes in a psychedelic frenzy, before simply ebbing away.
(See Paul Thomas Anderson’s videos for the band below.)
It’s this kind of experimentation and dogged refusal to make nice radio friendly pop songs that sets The Smile apart from their peers. Indeed, tracks like I Quit and Teleharmonic emulate electronic producers like Four Tet and Gold Panda, all burbling synth banks and rippling layers.
The title track, meanwhile, has Greenwood ‘s typically cinematic strings and elegiac majesty, with a nagging undercurrent. It all seems so effortless in their hands.
In short, it hits the sweet spot between experimentation and glorious melodies. Let others tread safer paths, The Smile are out ahead doing their own thing. And it’s as beautiful as it’s utterly unfathomable.
Out now via XL Recordings
Hit The North 