STACK #212 June 2022

MUSIC FEATURE

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The Smile, L-R: Jonny Greenwood, Thom Yorke, Tom Skinner

Thin Thing – with rim clicks so crisp they could induce a tic – is quite possibly the most harrowing track you’ll ever hear: “First she’ll pull your fingers off/ And then she’ll pull your toes/ And then she’ll steal the photos from your phone.” And that stacks-on instrumental section would make the perfect soundtrack for escaping a serial killer. Thankfully, Open the Floodgates follows and washes over like a much-needed calming tonic with bubbling synth arpeggiators and sonorous keys. Elsewhere, the gentle guitar noodling of Speech Bubbles morphs into a celestial instrumental; Waving a White Flag ’s prominent, persistent synth channels Jean-Michel Jarre; and the staticky undercurrent of We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings channels our collective anxiety about the future. Of the band’s name, which was inspired by a Ted Hughes poem, Yorke has explained: “Not the smile as in 'ha ha ha', the smile as in the guy who lies to you every day.” A Light for Attracting Attention is like a lighthouse illuminating perilous coastline – but there’s cause for celebration amongst the bleakness...

Following their surprise debut as part of Glastonbury Festival’s livestream only 2021 edition (announced on the day and recorded in secret earlier that week),The Smile (Radiohead’sThomYorke and Jonny Greenwood plus British jazz drummer Tom Skinner) finally release A Light for Attracting Attention almost a year later. Words Bryget Chrisfield THOM YORKE'S NEW VEHICLE ARRIVES ALIVE & GRINNING

A s well as the London Contemporary including Skinner’s Sons of Kemet bandmate Theon Cross (tuba) and his brother Nathaniel (trombone). “Please!/ We are all the same/ Please!/ We are one, the same”... Opener The Same ’s ominous, oscillating bleeps – different frequencies enlivening separate earbuds – catapult us into The Smile’s freakishly fantastic sonic orbit. The Opposite – the guitar-driven track that follows – boasts riffs like sirens, wonderfully showcasing Skinner’s dexterity while also presenting a Orchestra, this record features a full brass section of contemporary UK jazz players,

counterargument: “It doesn’t mean anything.” Pana-vision , which was synced to the Peaky Blinders finale, features meandering piano and Yorke resplendent in crestfallen-crooner mode. “And without my shoes on/ Over broken glass/ I’m dancing for pennies/ I’m staring straight ahead” – so flaming poetic! And this song’s arrangement builds ever so subtly until we’re suddenly swept away in a vortex of strings. A funky drum groove – played with Skinner’s unmistakable swing – perfectly complements The Smoke ’s dubby, descending basslines before shimmering brass embellishments ascend and dominate.

A Light for Attracting Attention by The Smile is out June 17 via XL Recordings.

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We look back at the stories behind some of our favourite album covers.

Kate Bush, Hounds of Love (1985)

“I t looked like an illustration from Dulac's Arabian Nights ,” remembers John Carder Bush – photographer and constant collaborator of his sister, Kate Bush – of the moment he knew he’d snapped his fairytale shot for the musician's fifth album, Hounds of Love. After many experiments,

background – such as forests or mountains – for the design: “The cover had to have a strong, full image of Kate, as it was the first for three years,” says John, “and landscapes, however beautiful, tend to dwarf people.” The dogs were amateur models and good friends of the Bushes named Bonnie and Clyde, who initially “use[d] Kate as a launching

ramp for their leaps and cavorting." John had to "have a serious talk" with the pair, who apparently agreed to calm down after they were each promised a McDonald's milkshake and apple pie at the conclusion of the shoot. The pooches finally settled into Kate's arms and fell asleep amongst the silk, allowing John to capture his dreamy cover image.

bro and sis had rejected an in-situ environmental

70 JUNE 2022

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