The Smile, recorded last week during the 6 Music Festival on March 8th and broadcast live (naturally) by BBC 6 Music.
When COVID came along and turned, not only the world but live music upside down, a good chunk of the audience feared music was going to die about the same death most restaurants and other public places did. Contemporary music was going to be a memory and whatever constituted a band would be relegated to the studio in sealed-off and isolated conditions.
The idea of missing a Radiohead tour, shelved during the lockdown, further fueled speculation the worst was about to take place.
I should know better when I am convinced the likes of Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood would be a memory of better times. I should know better because reinvention and exploration are key elements in the musical lives of those two.
The Smile is terrific – answers all the questions – surpasses all expectations (which they are really good at) and offers the grand sigh that all is well with the world, no matter how screwed up it is on the outside.
With the addition of drummer/percussionist Tom Skinner, The Smile do what they do best; chart new territory, explore new concepts – examine new ideas and come up with something brilliant to remind us the human spirit (and creative impulse) are alive and well and flourishing as well as ever.
Critics have lauded The Smile, saying they are offering an upbeat extension of Radiohead – that Radiohead as a band is alive and well and its members are out exploring, bringing back discoveries to be included in the group effort at some future point.
I said sometime ago that Atoms For Peace, another side project was “the next logical step” in the musical journey of Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood – I would add that The Smile is a further extension of that step – two artists who are in a constant state of invention, renewal and discovery. I am never going to take them for granted, but I will naturally assume everything they do, or are going to do, will be worth stopping whatever I’m doing and buckle up for the ride.
It’s always worth it.
Hit play and dive in:
