Formation (2018–2020) The
Radiohead guitarist
Jonny Greenwood and the
Sons of Kemet drummer
Tom Skinner first worked together on Greenwood's soundtrack for the 2012 film
The Master. In 2018, Greenwood asked Skinner to join him for a session to try some ideas. A few months later, they invited the Radiohead singer,
Thom Yorke. The members agreed not to give interviews about the project. The Smile's first record was produced by
Nigel Godrich, Radiohead's longtime producer. Godrich said the project emerged from Greenwood "writing all these riffs, waiting for something to happen" during the
COVID-19 lockdown. He cited the pandemic and the unavailability of the Radiohead guitarist
Ed O'Brien, who was busy with his debut solo album,
Earth (2020), as motivating factors.
Pitchfork attributed the Smile to Greenwood's frustration with Radiohead's slow working pace and his desire to release records that are "90 percent as good [that] come out twice as often". Greenwood said: "We didn't have much time, but we just wanted to finish some songs together. It's been very stop-start, but it's felt a happy way to make music." The Smile take their name from the title of a poem by
Ted Hughes. Yorke said it was "not the smile as in 'ahh', more the smile as in the guy who lies to you every day".
First performances (2021–2022) , Dallas, December 2022 The Smile made their debut in a surprise performance for the concert video
Live at Worthy Farm, produced by
Glastonbury Festival and streamed on May 22, 2021. The performance was recorded in secret earlier that week and announced on the day of the stream. That October, Yorke performed a Smile song, "
Free in the Knowledge", at the Letters Live event at the
Royal Albert Hall, London. In January 2022, the Smile performed in public for the first time at three shows at Magazine London, which were livestreamed. They played
in the round, and debuted several tracks, including "Speech Bubbles", "A Hairdryer", "Waving a White Flag" and "The Same". The shows also included performances of "Open the Floodgates", and a cover of the 1979
Joe Jackson single "
It's Different for Girls". In the
Guardian,
Kitty Empire gave it four out of five, writing that "the Smile are most musically convincing when they stretch farther away from Radiohead", while
Alexis Petridis gave it three, saying it was "intriguing rather than dazzling, intermittently spellbinding, filled with fascinating ideas that don't always coalesce".
A Light for Attracting Attention (2022) On 20 April 2022, the Smile announced their debut album,
A Light for Attracting Attention. It was released digitally through
XL Recordings on 13 May, followed by a retail release on 17 June, and reached number five on the
UK Albums Chart. It received acclaim. The
Pitchfork critic Ryan Dombal wrote that it was "instantly, unmistakably the best album yet by a Radiohead side project". The first single, "
You Will Never Work in Television Again", was released on streaming platforms on 5 January 2022. It was followed by "
The Smoke", "
Skrting on the Surface", "
Pana-vision", "Free in the Knowledge" and "Thin Thing". On 16 May 2022, the Smile began a tour of Europe and North America. They were joined for some songs by the saxophonist Robert Stillman. The tour included performances of Yorke's 2009 single "
FeelingPulledApartByHorses" and new material. A second North American tour began in mid-2023, including the Smile's first show in Mexico City and a headlining slot at
Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. On 14 December 2022, the Smile released
The Smile (Live at Montreux Jazz Festival, July 2022), with songs from their performance at the
Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. On 10 March 2023, they released a limited-edition vinyl EP,
Europe: Live Recordings 2022.
Wall of Eyes and Cutouts (2024) , March 2024 In March 2023, the Smile confirmed that they were seven weeks into recording their second album. On 20 June, they released the first single, "
Bending Hectic". In September and December, Yorke and
Stanley Donwood exhibited a selection of artwork created for the Smile,
The Crow Flies, in London. The Smile released their second album,
Wall of Eyes, produced by Sam Petts-Davies, on 26 January 2024. It was promoted with the singles "Wall of Eyes" and "
Friend of a Friend", accompanied by music videos directed by
Paul Thomas Anderson. On 19 January, the Smile held a series of screenings at independent cinemas, including listening parties for the album and a selection of Yorke and Greenwood's videos with Anderson. The band members made a surprise appearance at the
Prince Charles Cinema in London and answered questions from the audience. The shows included performances of several new songs. The August leg of the Smile's European tour was canceled after Greenwood was temporarily hospitalised with a serious infection. In April, Yorke released a film soundtrack,
Confidenza, featuring contributions from Skinner and Stillman. On 4 October, the Smile released their third album,
Cutouts, recorded during the same sessions as
Wall of Eyes. It was promoted with the singles "Don't Get Me Started", "The Slip", "Foreign Spies", "Zero Sum" and "Bodies Laughing", music videos by the digital artist Weirdcore, and cryptic messages on social media. Yorke said the Smile were "on a pause" while Greenwood recovered. In December, the Smile released a 12" vinyl record of three live tracks,
Live at the BBC 6 Music Festival 2024, sold exclusively through the London record shop
Rough Trade. On 19 February 2025, they released remixes of "Don't Get Me Started" and "Instant Psalm" by
James Holden and Stillman. In November, Greenwood and Yorke reunited with Radiohead for their
European tour. == Style ==