SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE SMILE – WALL OF EYES

THE SMILE
WALL OF EYES
XL RECORDINGS

2022 was a breakthrough year for The Smile, the latest project from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, and Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner, where the trio released its impressive debut studio record, A Light For Attracting Attention, along with the live album, The Smile (Live At Montreux Jazz Festival, July 2022). Following this, the band has released their second album, the highly anticipated Wall Of Eyes.

The album opens with the title track, a low-fi, acoustic bossa nova stripped to the bare bones for Yorke’s vocals to soar hauntingly over the beautifully coloured chords and the soft drums. The song grows to include strings and sporadic synth tones which embellish the simple song into something far greater than where it started. “Wall Of Eyes” is simply stunning. Similarly, yet in incredibly contrasting ways, the following song, “Teleharmonic”, sees the trio continue to play with Latin rhythms, but feels inspired by pop music in their use of synths and ambient sounds. This, of course, is not to call “Teleharmonic” a pop song, but rather, the song takes a darker tone and a far more alternative twist on the genre, so much so, that the song almost defies all convention.

The remaining six songs on Wall Of Eyes are no less brilliant. “Read The Room” plays with rhythm and dissonance in a way that feels reminiscent to David Bowie’s Blackstar (a comparison I do not make lightly), while “I Quit” is a cinematic soundscape. Furthermore, the most recent single, “Bending Hectic” and the closing track, “You Know Me” are both stellar examples of balladry. In addition to the opening two tracks, however, “Under The Pillow” with its stumbling guitar riff should be considered among the strongest songs on the album. Without a moment of weakness through its eight songs, Wall Of Eyes is an album that thrives on the unexpected as The Smile continues to chart new and exciting musical territory.

If A Light For Attracting Attention was a band experimenting for the purpose of finding their sound, then Wall Of Eyes is a band that continues to experiment as a means of expanding the bounds within the sound which they successfully found. To refer to The Smile, at this point, as a Radiohead offshoot is to do a disservice to both bands. The subtlety and nuance within this album, the tension and beauty is astounding. Without a doubt, The Smile’s Wall Of Eyes is among the most thrilling and unique musical experiences you will hear this year.

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