Last year, The Smile unveiled their debut album A Light For Attracting Attention. Featuring Radiohead‘s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, the band did an NPR Tiny Desk, late-night television performances, and released a new live LP from their Montreux Jazz Festival performance.
They’re back today with a KEXP performance (that was shared today but recorded on December 15, 2022). Playing “A Hairdryer,” “Thin Thing,” “The Opposite,” “You Will Never Work In Television Again,” and “Open The Floodgates,” The Smile’s reverberating, hallucinogenic sound fills up the studio and becomes a living thing. It’s more powerful than the recordings, especially getting to watch each member fall into the music.
Earlier this month, Radiohead drummer Philip Selway sat down for an interview and the question of whether or not Radiohead is still a band came up — one many fans have been wondering since their last LP, 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool.
“As far as I know, we’re still a band,” he stated. “If anybody knows any different, I’d be very interested.” He added, “For me, whatever we do, it all falls under that umbrella of the five of us. Ultimately, it all feeds into it.”
Luckily, in the meantime, The Smile have a lot to give.
Check out The Smile’s KEXP performance above.
