Looking for the most anticipated indie album of 2022? Here it is. You see, where hip-hop heads are constantly fawning over every rumor surrounding the next Kendrick Lamar album (which is, quite frankly, understandable), indie fans are constantly yearning for the next Radiohead drop. Now with The Smile, Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner have created a spin-off supergroup that is pretty damn close to the storied band behind OK Computer and In Rainbows. They’ve even got Radiohead’s go-to producer Nigel Godrich on board. And while an official announcement on the debut album from The Smile has yet to be made, the group just delivered their fourth single today in the paranoia-driven “Pana-Vision.” And like its three predecessors, it totally rules.
“Pana-Vision,” which debuted last night on the final episode ever of BBC One’s show Peaky Blinders, opens with an eery piano. It slowly unfolds alongside Yorke’s high-pitched delivery into something more inviting, before materializing into a track that is decidedly sinister. (Sound familiar?) Skinner’s smoky drumming feels akin to what you’d hear past 2 am at a London underbelly jazz club. But it’s Greenwood’s piano that really challenges your mind to understand how the song is supposed to make you feel. Altogether this is another fine companion piece to previously released singles in “You Will Never Work In Television Again,” “The Smoke,” and “Skrting On The Surface.”
The track was released along with a spooky animation by Sabrina Nichols, which you can watch above.
