The Smile: Wall of Eyes

Wall of Eyes is the second album from The Smile, following 2022’s A Light for Attracting Attention. Despite being released in January this year, a third album, Cutouts, appeared in early October. The Smile features two of Radiohead’s core members – lead singer Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood with Tom Skinner, hitherto best known as the percussionist from the late, lamented avant-garde jazz band Sons of Kemet. As the last full Radiohead release was 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool and Sons of Kemet went on perma-hiatus in 2022, The Smile is (hopefully) proving more than just a side project.

As Wall Of Eyes by The Smile started, I thought, “This is good!” Feelings rushed back from Radiohead’s legendary OK, Computer. It’s the same feel and the same sound. Thom Yorke’s fragile, high-pitched voice is a simple yet effective instrumentation. Guitars mixed with electronic sounds and incredible indie rock drumming. This is really good! At the end of the first track, their Talk Talk inspiration becomes apparent again, as it was many times with other Radiohead albums.

One feature inspired by the band Talk Talk that Radiohead has adapted is the interchange between passages of extreme musicality, which transmute into distorting passages that remain musical.

The music on the opening title track, ‘Wall of Eyes,’ is laid-back and minimalist. It evolves into increasingly distorting sounds. The second track, ‘Teleharmonic,’ is similar but more ethereal and still good. It starts quietly but builds with great bass and excellent drumming.

Things get noisier on the third track, ‘Read the Room’. Thom Yorke’s vocals are great on this track. And there’s more great drumming from Skinner. As with the first tracks, ‘Read the Room’ dissolves into more distorting elements as the song progresses.

After the first three tracks, which could all become indie-rock hits, the album becomes more atmospheric, nuanced, and slightly off-beat. For example, ‘Friend of a Friend’ has an almost Abbey Road feel, like a modern Beatles version of one of the tracks Paul sang on that album, complete with tempo breaks, piano and similar phrasing.

The first part of the album is very appealing from early listening. The second half requires more listening time before it reveals itself, which might appeal to only some listeners. That said, Radiohead and Sons of Kemet fans are the kind of listeners who enjoy taking the time ‘going to work’ on an album, so if Wall of Eyes takes time to parse, that’s a good thing!

Many of the lyrics on Wall of Eyes seem very personal to Yorke, like torn sentences glimpsed from entries into his private diary. The songs feel like he’s expressing disappointment or commenting on the various people and experiences in his interactions with the world as a famous musician. On the quiet and reflective ‘Bending Hectic,’ for example, Yorke seems to slightly echo Lennon’s outlook on ‘Watching the Wheels.’ That track also has a slight later-years Beatles feel to it.

If Radiohead has pressed ‘pause’ on new material releases, then Radiohead and indie-rock fans generally have an excellent new artist to follow. One that seems to be cranking out new material at a healthy pace. Wall of Eyes is more reflective and less ‘flashy’ than early Radiohead albums.

This is more like a mix of Radiohead’s earlier quiet tracks and later more electronic introspective material. Wall of Eyes is undoubtedly a must-have.

A final bonus is that the album is recorded rather well for the genre, too. A number of UK audio reviewers – including the editor of this title – have been known to use Wall of Eyes as one of their test records.

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