The Smile - Wall of Eyes Review
Wall of Eyes is too cryptic to be apathetic, too funky to be downbeat and too layered and haunting to be a simple ‘fuck you’ to the system.
One of the reasons Radiohead were able to continually reinvent themselves was not only due to the surfeit of talent in the band, but unlike so many of their contemporaries it always felt like the creative presences complimented one another, rather than being in competition. The band seemed to be a collaborative project, albeit one where different tendencies would periodically come to the fore. So when Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood - unarguably the key creative axis running through Radiohead - formed a de facto supergroup with jazz drummer Tom Skinner of Sons of Kemet, it essentially felt like a continuation of the Radiohead project, rather than some bold new direction as can be the case when band members free themselves from the limitations of life in a collective.
That The Smile have released two albums in a short space of time suggests these guys are on a roll creatively, and much of their output has the free-flowing jam-like quality of tracks that were laid down quickly and easily in the studio. This relaxed vibe is largely down to Skinner's presence behind the skins, with Yorke and Greenwood clearly making the most of the UK's burgeoning jazz scene to reinvigorate themselves with some hip young rhythmic talent. (Not that Phil Selway was any slouch as a drummer).
Given Radiohead’s legendary status and the very audible presence of two of their key members in this project it's impossible to avoid comparisons, but there's no denying The Smile really do succeed on their own terms. Pushing a hybrid mix of styles that could only make sense in the 2020s - spikey post-punk, fidgety jazz, gloomy electronics, and just a small dose of unashamed rocking out. Where the group’s debut A Light for Attracting Attention tended towards the bristly and unsettling, Wall of Eyes showcases Yorke and Greenwood's adeptness for haunting atmospherics. They set the scene with layers of fluttering picked guitars and Yorke's inimitable falsetto (a combination which feels very In Rainbows), but this often gives way to surges of malevolent strings (courtesy of Greenwood's line as a film scorer) and Yorke's wordless gasps, groans and seething moans.
The wiry, twisting guitar lick that introduces Under our Pillows feels like a direct line that runs from Thin Thing, off ALAA. Wriggling with a nervous energy that bucks against free-flowing funky percussion, the lads have never sounded more like their idols Talking Heads. The riff then fragments like a kaleidoscope being turned and we're swept into a psychedelic tunnel, propelled along by motorik rhythms as Yorke's voice echoes “this is make believe, make believe”. But these shifts of pace and atmosphere that pepper the album, like on Bending Hectic - an epic ode to refusing to give up in the face of adversity, to turn the wheel at the last moment before you drive over the cliff no matter how tempting that might seem - are executed gracefully with the skill of seasoned pros, so you never feel like you’re being pulled from pillar to post.
As with ALAA, I’ve found Wall of Eyes to be one of those albums that sounds different every time I play it. New layers and segments reveal themselves and it’ll be an record that bears repeated listens in different contexts, but I feel confident enough already to go out on a limb and say this is among the best work I've heard from Thom and Jonny since In Rainbows.
One of Thom Yorke's strengths as a lyricist has always been his knack for rendering the themes of societal, global angst in deeply personal and physiological terms. For example the frequent references on The Bends to body parts: bones, lungs, knees, skin etc. And how on OK Computer he distils alienation from our over-technological society into dreamlike vignettes about being born again, growing wings, flying away. The lyrical content of Wall of Eyes shares those hallmarks and is rather more impenetrable than the music. One senses a disillusionment with our age of misinformation and division, with the lack of will to engage with the various crises engulfing the world (on many of which Yorke has been outspoken for years). And the loss of shared sense of what’s real, despite the fact more of life is ‘shared’ than ever before.
Taking some of the lyrics at face value, one might think Thom was throwing in the towel (apart from on the triumphant Bending Hectic) but with him there’s always multiple interpretations. Wall of Eyes is too cryptic to be apathetic, too funky to be downbeat and too layered and haunting to be a simple ‘fuck you’ to the system. What it is, is three very talented musicians playing to one another’s strengths and creating something more than the sum of its parts - let’s hope they keep this car on the road for a while yet.