Track Listing
Wall of Eyes
Teleharmonic
Read The Room
Under Our Pillows
Friend Of A Friend
I Quit
Bending Hectic
You Know Me!
The Smile is back with their sophomore effort, ‘Wall of Eyes,’ and it couldn’t feel any more senior. Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood (of Radiohead) remind the world why they deserve to be regarded as among the best musicians in modern history. Drummer Tom Skinner keeps pace with the utmost style. As usual, the songs might gnaw on your pop sensibilities, and you may have to listen multiple times before the tracks start to sink in. For these guys, though, that’s all par for the course.
SIDE A
The album rolls in softly with the title track like no time has elapsed since their last album, ‘A Light for Attracting Attention.’ “Wall of Eyes” is lyrically dark despite the almost beachy quality of the drums and acoustic guitar. It reads like an anxious meditation on undeserved success. There’s a hyper-self-awareness to that feeling. The strings lend an eerie quality to the calming lament.
Spacey textures, utterly unique synths, and Thom’s world-class vocals reduce gravity to zero in “Teleharmonic.” Rock solid drums and occasional punches from solid bass-playing keep you tethered. The album moves as if between dreaming and waking. “Read The Room” is sure to elicit some stank-faces and steady undulation, even on a first listen. The guitar rhythm is steady and easy to latch onto until the whole song evolves into an impossibly present new groove.
In “Under Our Pillows,” Jonny Greenwood uses his singular mastery as a composer and digital guru on his guitar. It sounds like it’s about to fall apart and overload an amp just to keep up with his vision. The song descends into a hypnotizing place- on a whole other physical plane. It gets you lost in your head, painting an internal image in technicolor. It’s somehow both fantasy and nightmare, somehow everywhere and nowhere.
SIDE B
“Friend of a Friend” opens with the boastful line, “I can go anywhere that I want…” Coincidence or genius? The odd rhythm bounces forward with ease, a symphony crests and falls in time with pure romance and a hint of horror. Paul Thomas Anderson, who has a long history with Yorke and Jonny Greenwood in particular, directed the charming music video. “I Quit” is a prime example of the way Thom And Jonny are able to bring out the best of each other musically. There’s no ego in that relationship, just a musical purpose and a mutual goal.
“Bending Hectic” sounds like a working title that stuck because it sums up the song in a way that’s so on the nose it’s funny. Jonny’s guitar trills and long bends are cuddled by Thom’s vocals and kissed by Skinner’s cymbals. It’s a groovy 8-minute lullaby that, in its final minutes, smashes through the roof with a rude and truly frightening awakening. First it’s bending, then it’s hectic. The whole time, it’s brilliant.
The final song lyrically demonstrates the devastating absurdity of its title: “You Know Me!” Thom and Jonny smash together the worlds of their solo work to create a gorgeous goodbye. Thom’s voice is as hauntingly beautiful as ever, and his lyrics glimmer in an ocean of texture. Jonny’s string arrangements are gripping in a way that only he can achieve.
Final Thoughts
Despite their fame, every time Thom Yorke and/or Jonny Greenwood put out new music, it feels like a reason to champion them as the unsung heroes of music history. ‘Wall of Eyes’ is a bit short, with 8-tracks on the album. That being said, we’re in an age of endless scrolls of viral singles. A full 45 minutes of ‘Deep Listening’ is still a big task. While it may be easy to write The Smile off as a side-project between Radiohead releases, a second album of this quality demands to be taken seriously.
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Verdict - 9.5/10
9.5/10