It’s no secret that Radiohead fans are among the most dedicated of those in the ‘Rock’ community today, and while that may be good in terms of ticket and album sales, the fanbase also comes with its drawbacks. If you release 3 career-defining albums the calibre of Kid A, OK Computer, and In Rainbows; eventually your fans will begin to believe that this is what you’re all about. If every new album doesn’t push the boundaries of popular music for decades to come… then you’ve under-performed. Fortunately for Thom Yorke, and Jonny Greenwood… they haven’t made a Radiohead album.
The inclusion of Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner, and a stripped back 3-piece approach have birthed something brand new: The Smile. Free from the burden of having to progress all of recorded music every few years, free from the legions of angry fans that hate The King Of Limbs because it doesn’t sound enough like Aphex Twin to warrant an IDM association… they can just make an album. Now, after a few months of odd singles and quirky live shows, and the promise of an album on the horizon, it has a release date. A Light For Attracting Attention is set to drop on May 13th, you can pre-order here. You may also want to hear the album’s 5th single “Free In The Knowledge” below.
Jonny took to the band’s mailing list to announce the project yesterday. Explaining the confusing wait, he said, “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.”.
Now we have the tracklist, we can take a moment to see what we already know about the album. For anyone who was lucky enough to bag a ticket to the Greenwich shows back in January (like me), you have already heard the whole album – as well as another song that didn’t quite make the cut “Just Eyes And Mouth”, and a cover of Joe Jackson’s “It’s Different For Girls” that also wasn’t album quality apparently.
It was also revealed that the London Contemporary Orchestra plus a full brass section of contemporary UK jazz players, including Byron Wallen, Theon and Nathaniel Cross, Chelsea Carmichael, Robert Stillman, and Jason Yarde, make an appearance in some degree. May 13th will reveal all.
