New rock trio The Smile, made of Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and Sons Of Kemet’s Tom Skinner, have announced their highly anticipated debut album, A Light For Attracting Attention. The announcement also arrived with the release of a new music video for the single "Free in the Knowledge," directed by Leo Leigh.
A Light For Attracting Attention is set to be released on May 13. Read a note from Jonny Greenwood, and watch the new video for "Free in the Knowledge" below. And finally! A release date, a new song, the art work that Thom and Stanley have been painting all winter — and a sense that we will get to share, at last, our new music in full. I feel grateful that we managed, with Nigel’s help, to record these songs in a way they deserve. And the singles released so far have been liked — as far as I can tell — which makes me feel dangerously confident in the rest of the record. As the all-knowing algorithm has it, if you liked that, you’ll love this, right? Hope so. Aside from anything, the brass and strings players who helped out — I really can’t wait for you to hear all their work too. So yes, we’re properly proud and excited for everyone to have the whole thing — but, it’s been a drawn out process so far, with so many single songs released. I can only apologise for our tentativeness. Patience is a virtue, but then, so are sobriety and humility — and they’re not happening either. Nor can we persuade Apple Music to stop greying-out the titles of the unreleased tracks (the teases!) — but, come May 13th, everything will be out there, instead of in here. As we prepare to play this all live, a small part of me views the record as a way of getting people familiar with the songs first. This is short sighted, but as I type this, I can’t really think beyond the first chord of the first concert in Croatia because that’s where so much of the excitement is for me. Live concerts are short-sighted, short-lived things, and all the more vital because of it. But really, the record still feels worth your time — both the time spent waiting, and the time we’re asking you to invest in hearing it — which is all I can hope for. I’m listening to it constantly, long after I should have had enough, so maybe that’s the right, long-sighted view of this. I hope you have the same experience. Best wishes, Jonny
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