Black vinyl.

The Smile, who are releasing their second album "Wall Of Eyes" in January 2024, ensure a good start to the new year.

The band consists of Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead and Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner. Their debut "A Light For Attracting Attention" was released in 2022 and was created during the coronavirus pandemic. Fans and the trade press were enthusiastic about the band's sophisticated sound, which is partly reminiscent of Radiohead, but also has enough character of its own.

This is where "Wall Of Eyes" picks up and continues in the same vein as its predecessor. After all, many of the musical ideas on the album date back to the band's discovery phase during the pandemic. For example, The Smile played the fantastic first single "Bending Hectic" live for the first time in the summer of 2022. In the studio version, strings from the London Contemporary Orchestra reinforce the dramatic structure of the song.

In contrast, the title track "Wall Of Eyes" is a more restrained number that thrives on its exciting atmosphere. For the video for the song, The Smile worked with renowned director Paul Thomas Anderson, who is a regular collaborator of Greenwood and Yorke.

Somewhat surprisingly, producer Nigel Godrich is not involved with "Wall Of Eyes". Instead of the regular producer of Radiohead, Atoms For Peace and many of Thom Yorke's solo works, Sam Petts-Davies was at the controls this time. Yorke had worked with him in 2018 on the soundtrack for the horror film remake "Suspiria".