The Smile are an English rock band comprising the

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

members

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...

(vocals, guitar, bass, keys) and

Jonny Greenwood Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician and composer. He is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the alternative rock band Radiohead, and has written numerous film scores. Along with his elder brother, th ...

(guitar, bass, keys) with the drummer

Tom Skinner Sir Thomas Edward Skinner (18 April 1909 – 11 November 1991) was a New Zealand politician and Trades Union leader. Sir Tom served as President of the Auckland Trades Council from 1954 to 1976, and President of the New Zealand Federation of ...

. They are produced by

Nigel Godrich Nigel Timothy Godrich (born 28 February 1971) is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He is known for his work with the English rock band Radiohead, having produced all their studio albums since '' OK Computer'' (1997). H ...

, Radiohead's longtime producer. They incorporate elements of

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

Afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting ...

and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

. The Smile worked during the

COVID-19 lockdowns Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

and made their surprise debut in a performance streamed by

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

in May 2021. In early 2022, they released six singles and performed to an audience for the first time at three shows in London, which were livestreamed. In May, the Smile released their debut album, ''

A Light for Attracting Attention ''A Light for Attracting Attention'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Smile. It was digitally released through XL Recordings on 13 May, 2022, with a physical release on 17 June. The Smile comprises the Radiohead members T ...

'', to acclaim, and began an international tour.

History

said the Smile came from his desire to work with his

bandmate

during the

COVID-19 lockdown Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

. The Smile are produced by

, Radiohead's longtime producer. Godrich said the project emerged from Greenwood "writing all these riffs, waiting for something to happen". He cited the pandemic and the unavailability of the Radiohead guitarist

Ed O'Brien Edward John O'Brien (born 15 April 1968) is an English guitarist, songwriter and member of the rock band Radiohead. He releases solo music under the name EOB. O'Brien attended Abingdon School in Oxfordshire, England, where he met the other mem ...

, who was busy with his debut solo album, ''

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

'', as motivating factors. Greenwood said: "We didn't have much time, but we just wanted to finish some songs together. It's been very stop-start, but it's felt a happy way to make music." Greenwood and Yorke enlisted the drummer

, who had played with acts including the jazz band

Sons of Kemet Sons of Kemet are a British jazz group formed by Shabaka Hutchings, Oren Marshall, Seb Rochford, and Tom Skinner. Theon Cross replaced Marshall on tuba after the first album, and Eddie Hick replaced Rochford on drums after the third. Career T ...

. Skinner first worked with Greenwood when he played on Greenwood’s soundtrack to the 2012 film '' The Master''. The Smile members agreed not to give interviews about the project. The Smile 30 January 2022 - 2

The Smile take their name from the title of a poem by

Ted Hughes Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...

. Yorke said it was "not the smile as in 'ahh', more the smile as in the guy who lies to you every day". The Smile made their debut in a surprise performance for the concert video ''Live at Worthy Farm'', produced by

and streamed on May 22, 2021. The performance was recorded in secret earlier that week and announced on the day of the stream. The band performed eight songs, with Yorke and Greenwood on guitar, bass, Moog synthesiser and

Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

First public performances

Yorke performed a Smile song, "Free in the Knowledge", at the Letters Live event at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, London, in October 2021. On January 29 and 30, 2022, the Smile performed to an audience for the first time at three shows at Magazine, London, which were livestreamed. They played

in the round A theatre in the round, arena theatre or central staging is a space for theatre in which the audience surrounds the stage. Theatre-in-the-round was common in ancient theatre, particularly that of Greece and Rome, but was not widely explored aga ...

, and debuted several tracks, including "Speech Bubbles", "A Hairdryer", "Waving a White Flag" and "The Same". The shows also included performances of "Open the Floodgates", which Yorke first performed in 2010, and a cover of the 1979 Joe Jackson single "

It's Different for Girls "It’s Different for Girls" is a song by Joe Jackson appearing on his 1979 album, '' I'm the Man''. The song has since become one of his most successful singles, notably being the highest charting Joe Jackson single in the UK. Covers have be ...

". In ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', James Balmont gave the London show four out five, describing it as "meticulous, captivating stuff". In the ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'',

Kitty Empire Kitty Empire is the pen name of a British writer and music critic, currently writing for ''The Observer''. Early life Empire says that she was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1970 and brought up in Canada, Italy and Egypt before arriving in Britai ...

gave it four out of five, writing that "the Smile are most musically convincing when they stretch farther away from Radiohead", while

Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...

gave it three, saying it was "intriguing rather than dazzling, intermittently spellbinding, filled with fascinating ideas that don't always coalesce".

''A Light for Attracting Attention''

On 20 April 2022, the Smile announced their debut album, ''A Light for Attracting Attention''. It was released digitally through

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six album ...

on 13 May, followed by a retail release on 17 June, and reached number five on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. It received acclaim; the ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' critic Ryan Dombal wrote that it was "instantly, unmistakably the best album yet by a Radiohead side project". The first single, "

You Will Never Work in Television Again "You Will Never Work in Television Again" is a song by the English rock band the Smile. It was released on 5 January 2022 as the debut single from their debut album, '' A Light for Attracting Attention''. The Smile first performed it in the 20 ...

", was released on streaming platforms on 5 January 2022. It was followed by "

The Smoke The Smoke were an English pop group from York. They consisted of Mick Rowley (lead vocals), Mal Luker (lead guitar), John "Zeke" Lund ( bass) and Geoff Gill (drums and compositor). The band originally performed around Yorkshire as The Moo ...

", "

Skrting on the Surface "Skrting on the Surface" is a song by the English rock band the Smile. It was released on 17 March 2022 as the third single from the Smile's debut album, '' A Light for Attracting Attention''. It features guitar arpeggios in the time signature ...

", "

Pana-vision "Pana-vision" is the fourth single by the English rock band the Smile, released on 3 April 2022. It is included on their debut album, '' A Light for Attracting Attention.'' Music video An animated visualizer directed by Sabrina Nichols, us ...

", "Free In The Knowledge", and "Thin Thing". On 16 May, the Smile began a tour of Europe and North America. The tour included performances of the unreleased song "Just Eyes and Mouth", Yorke's 2009 single " FeelingPulledApartByHorses" and new material. On 14 December, the Smile released a digital-only EP, ''The Smile (Live at Montreux Jazz Festival, July 2022)'', with songs from their performance at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

, Switzerland. In a positive review, ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' wrote that the EP demonstrated that the Smile were "no mere studio project" but "an actual, organic live band".

Style

Consequence Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...

'' wrote that the Smile incorporate elements of

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated wit ...

and

math rock Math rock is a style of progressive and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush as well as 20th-century minimal music composers such as Steve Reich. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (includi ...

. ''

'' likened them to Radiohead's "vintage rock sensibilities", with a "slight bounce to Skinner's drums" and "unfamiliar aggression from Greenwood in the bassline". The ''

'' critic Alexis Petridis said the Smile "sound like a simultaneously more skeletal and knottier version of Radiohead", exploring

influences with unusual

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

s, complex riffs and "hard-driving"

motorik Motorik is the 4/4 beat often used by, and heavily associated with, krautrock bands. Coined by music journalists, the term is German for "motor skill". The motorik beat was pioneered by Jaki Liebezeit, drummer with German experimental rock band ...

psychedelia. Kitty Empire noted

elements in "Just Eyes and Mouth" and influence from 1960s electronic music and

systems music Systems music is music with sound continua which evolve gradually, often over very long periods of time. Historically, the American minimalists Steve Reich, La Monte Young and Philip Glass are considered the principal proponents of this composit ...

in "Open the Floodgates" and "The Same". Reviewing "You Will Never Work in Television Again", the ''Pitchfork'' critic

Jayson Greene Jayson Greene (born ) is an American author, music critic and editor. He has served as a senior editor of online music magazine ''Pitchfork'' and is the author of ''Once More We Saw Stars'' a memoir about the death of his two-year-old daughter in ...

described it as a "raw-boned rock number" reminiscent of Radiohead's 1995 album ''

The Bends "The bends" is a colloquialism for decompression sickness. The Bends may also refer to: * ''The Bends'' (album), a 1995 studio album by Radiohead * "The Bends" (song), a 1995 song by Radiohead * "The Bends", a song by Mr. Bungle from the 1995 alb ...

''.

Members

– guitar, bass, keyboards, piano, harp *

– drums, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals *

– vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, piano

Additional live members

* Robert Stillman — saxophone

Discography

Studio album

EPs

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smile, The English art rock groups 2021 establishments in the United Kingdom Musical groups established in 2021 Radiohead XL Recordings artists