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The SMILE
Wall Of Eyes (CD)
XL
Cat: XL 1394CD. Rel: 29 Jan 24
Indie/Alternative
| Track 1. Wall Of Eyes |
| Track 2. Teleharmonic |
| Track 3. Read The Room |
| Track 4. Under Our Pillows |
| Track 5. Friend Of A Friend |
| Track 6. I Quit |
| Track 7. Bending Hectic |
| Track 8. You Know Me! |
Given their Radiohead connections Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood make up two thirds of the band), there's always been an enormous amount of interest in The Smile - a lockdown-born project that has plenty of potential. Wall of Eyes, the trio's second album, is certainly impressive. For proof, check the moody, suspenseful and slowly unfurling title track (all pulsing, low-slung semi-acoustic grooves, eyes-closed vocals, dense electronic textures and soundtrack strings), the heady, subtly jazz-flecked wall of sound that is 'Friend of a Friend' (listen out for the music concrete-style sound collage sitting in the background of the White Album era Beatles-esque 'Friend of a Friend'), and the lo-fi, string-laden headiness of the largely beat-free 'Bending Heretic', whose cut-glass horror strings and Nine Inch Nails style guitars are impressively intense at times.