The Smile announces debut album

A Light for Attracting Attention will be released on May 13th

The Smile — comprised of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and Sons of Kemet’s Tom Skinner — will release their highly anticipated debut album A Light For Attracting Attention on digital formats on May 13th and CD and 2 LP on June 17th via XL Recordings. Limited edition double yellow vinyl will be available at independent record stores.

The 13-track album was produced and mixed by Nigel Godrich and mastered by Bob Ludwig. Tracks feature strings by the London Contemporary Orchestra and a full brass section of contemporary UK jazz players including Byron Wallen, Theon and Nathaniel Cross, Chelsea Carmichael, Robert Stillman and Jason Yarde.

The Smile has previously released the singles “You Will Never Work in Television Again,” “The Smoke,” and “Skrting On The Surface” to critical acclaim. “The Smoke” was also released as a dub remix by legendary reggae producer Dennis Bovell.

The Smile’s most recent single, “Pana-vision,” was released on April 3rd and appeared in the finale of Peaky Blinders. The animated video for “Pana-vision” features artwork by Radiohead artist Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke.

The new single, “Free In The Knowledge,” is out now with an accompanying video directed by Leo Leigh. The track was first performed by Thom Yorke as part of the Letters Live event at London’s Royal Albert Hall, in December 2021, the first time Yorke had performed since the pandemic began. Introducing the song, he dedicated it to all fellow UK musicians.

In January, the trio played three consecutive sold out live shows over a 24-hour period in London. These shows were simultaneously livestreamed to a worldwide audience.

The band begin their 2022 European tour on May 16th in Croatia, and will be performing UK dates in London, Edinburgh, and Manchester, before heading back into Europe, with a final performance in Taormina, Sicily, on July 20th.

The dates include a performance at Down The Rabbit Hole festival in the Netherlands on July 2nd and the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 20th.

CD | 2 LP

  1. The Same
  2. The Opposite
  3. You Will Never Work in Television Again
  4. Pana-vision
  5. The Smoke
  6. Speech Bubbles
  7. Thin Thing
  8. Open The Floodgates
  9. Free In The Knowledge
  10. A Hairdryer
  11. Waving A White Flag
  12. We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings
  13. Skrting On The Surface

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com