Recommended Viewing: The Smile Live on KEXP

For those patiently awaiting the next Radiohead album, let me let you in on a little secret: it’s already here. Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood have pulled a fast one on all of us. 

On a superficial level, the duo’s latest project the Smile really just sounds like just a slightly-more psychedelic Radiohead, and their debut LP A Light For Attracting Attention just The King of Limbs on some sort of performance-enhancing substance (Tom Skinner, everyone). But by ditching the lofty expectations attached to the multi-decadal cultural phenomena that is Radiohead, Yorke and Greenwood have entered a new epoch of exploration and enthusiasm. The reins have been loosened, the saxophone is here, and the real fun has begun. 

Over the past year, the band has been busy making some of the most exciting new music we’ve heard since A Moon Shaped Pool. Thom Yorke’s voice has aged like fine wine, and - as if to acknowledge his looming legacy artist status - he’s grown a fitting philosopher’s beard. Free to occupy all the musical territory he desires given the absence of Radiohead six-string confrère Ed O’ Brien, Johnny Greenwood uses the Smile as a vehicle to push the outermost limits of what one person should be able to accomplish with their guitar. Meanwhile, jazz-handed newcomer Tom Skinner of Sons of Kemet notoriety makes sure nothing is ever in 4/4 for too long. 

Go see them live if you get the chance. Their gig at The Shrine Theater in December was, without a doubt, the best show I’ve been to in years. But for now, we recommend basking in the high-fidelity glory of their new KEXP session (props to the audio engineer on this one). It’s the best thing we’ve got until the group’s next official release which - rumor has it - is imminent. —Jackson Todd

PS: Click here to check out the Smile’s tiny desk concert for a minimalist variation on the same theme.