The Smile Return With “Don’t Get Me Started”

The last Radiohead album was 2016s A Moon Shaped Pool. The last before that was 2011s The King Of Limbs. That was 5 years between albums. With Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood’s current project The Smile they have released two albums plus two live LPs over the last two years. Now that’s some seriously inspired writing, as both of those records – A Light For Attracting Attention and Wall Of Eyes – are both excellent ‘all killer no filler’ albums.

I wonder what it is about this project that is so freeing and easy to write for that opens these two to write with such ease? I would guess that being in a band like Radiohead there would be a lot of scrutiny, expectation, and anticipation hanging over everything they do. So when you’re doing something that isn’t THE THING there’d be a sense of freedom to it, and that expectation doesn’t really come into play. At least not for the Radiohead guys.

I guess with Thom Yorke having a solo career as well would be somewhat of a stress reliever. Stepping away from the main gig and making music on a laptop by himself would be a nice escape for one of the most revered and recognized faces in rock and roll over the last 30 years. The Eraser, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, and Anima were all very electronic-adjacent albums. There was an intimacy to them. You could imagine Yorke working on these quietly by himself, then when he was done he’d hand them over to Radiohead producer and 6th member of Radiohead Nigel Godrich for his studio tinkering. I’d imagine it was a far less stressful process, and possibly even more fulfilling than working in one of the biggest bands in the world.

In 2018 Yorke began a career in film scoring with the Suspiria remake. He returned to the film score fold once again in 2024 with the excellent music in the Italian film Confidenza.

Jonny Greenwood has had his own Radiohead-less projects with his own film score work, starting in 2007 with Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood. That launched a very fruitful partnership between Greenwood and Anderson that has stretched over nearly 20 years and 5 films. There was also soundtracks like Bodysong, Norwegian Wood, You Were Never Really Here, Spencer and The Power Of The Dog. His album Junun was documented in a docu-film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson as well.

Prolific would be a good word to describe their output.

The Smile arrived seemingly from out of nowhere in 2021 dropping videos of Yorke, Greenwood, and drummer Tom Skinner in the studio recording what would become their debut LP A Light For Attracting Attention. There was a looseness to the songs that promised a more feel and lived-in approach to writing that Radiohead hasn’t really captured since 2008s In Rainbows. Elements of Krautrock, electronic, jazz, and post-punk were present and accounted for, plus there was something really inspiring watching live clips with Yorke and Greenwood trading out bass for guitar for piano and for synthesizers. The music captured that spontaneity.

January of this year saw the release of the band’s sophomore album Wall Of Eyes, which was preceded by the release of album track “Bending Hectic” earlier in 2023. The album built upon what came before, adding more ethereal and ambient tracks along with one of their best songs yet, “Friend Of A Friend”. And only coming a year and a half after their debut.

Coming just weeks after the announcement that The Smile’s current tour was put on hold due to Jonny Greenwood having a very serious infection and needing to take time to heal the band have dropped a new song, the mysterious and excellent “Don’t Get Me Started”. There were drops of mysterious art and people speculating it was created by AI(it wasn’t) over the last few days, as well as a 7 inch single that was sold and quickly sold out in minutes. 7 am eastern time “Don’t Get Me Started” dropped on 8/8.

The dark track opens on menacing synth notes and a muffled rhythm that sounds like Skinner playing toms under a mile of heavy blankets. Thom Yorke’s vocals come in strong and front and center; melodic and in your face. The nearly 6-minute track wavers in flavors of everything from Krautrock to IDM to Dark Wave, coalescing into something both menacing and inspired. It’s a fantastic song that only adds to the band’s sonic repertoire. Hints of Manuel Göttsching’s excellent E2-E4, Depeche Mode’s Black Celebration, and even Suicide’s Self-Titled debut. There’s a repetitive nature to the song that’s hypnotic.

Here’s to artists being inspired, prolific, and not sitting on their laurels. The Smile is a band on fire and in one hell of a creative streak. Let’s hope this means another album is just around the corner. Listen to “Don’t Get Me Started” below.