At the very end of 2020, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood shared an open letter to his fans reflecting on the difficult year without live music. Greenwood said he hoped to have the opportunity to start making music again. But instead of working on a new Radiohead release, Greenwood and Thom Yorke decided to form the side project The Smile along with Sons Of Kemet’s Tom Skinner. The new band made their debut during a livestream back in May and they’ve now officially dropped their first-ever single.
Clocking in at just under three minutes, The Smile’s new track “You Will Never Work In Television Again” is a fuzzy introduction to their music. Propulsive drums drive the song forward as Yorke’s musings melt over a wall of washed-out guitar riffs.
Hi all, a little update. The Smile album is at the track-listing stage (6227020800 possible song orders)
Until that’s settled here's ‘You Will Never Work In Television Again.’: https://t.co/gbLd5LV70g pic.twitter.com/Zz4qM4KP2r
— The Smile (@thesmiletheband) January 5, 2022
Those who tuned into their Glastonbury festival livestream last May have already heard eight of The Smile’s songs, but the band has another opportunity for fans to get an exclusive preview of their upcoming music. The Smile will host three more livestreams later this month within a 24-hr period at Magazine London. The livestream will see The Smile peforming to a seated audience in the round on January 29 and 30. The first livestream will kick off at 3 pm EST, with another performance a few hours later at 8 pm. Their January 30 set will begin at 6 am EST.
Listen to The Smile’s debut single “You Will Never Work In Television Again” above.
