Radiohead side-project The Smile finally reveal cover and release date of debut album, A Light For Attracting Attention
After an extensive wait, the trio have shared the tracklist of the upcoming release, as well as a new track, Free In The Knowledge.
Image: Xavi Torrent / Getty
Comprised of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner, the long-awaited release date for The Smile’s debut album, A Light For Attracting Attention, has been confirmed to take place on 13 May.
Following an array of singles released over recent months, including You Will Never Work in Television Again, The Smoke, Pana-vision and unreleased Radiohead track Skrting on the Surface, the side-project has taken to Twitter to debut the tracklist and cover for the upcoming album, as well as one more single, Free In The Knowledge.
The LP will arrive digitally first, landing across streaming platforms on May 13. Physical releases of A Light For Attracting Attention will arrive just over a month later on June 17, although the album is available to preorder now in multiple formats.
The most recent track, Free In The Knowledge may sound familiar to some listeners, with it first debuted by Yorke during a one-off solo performance late last year… prior to The Smile claiming it as part of its upcoming EP.
Check out the latest track below, accompanied by a new music video directed by Leo Leigh.
In a mailing list that announced the album, Greenwood described the record to fans, saying “The record still feels worth your time – both the time spent waiting, and the time we’re asking you to invest in hearing it – which is all I can hope for.” He continues, “I’m listening to it constantly, long after I should have had enough,[…] I hope you have the same experience.”
A Light For Attracting Attention is set to draw some parallels to its Radiohead counterparts, with the album produced and mixed by Nigel Godrich, a longtime collaborator of the band. In addition, the album will feature the London Contemporary Orchestra and a full brass section of contemporary jazz players, all the while being mastered by Bob Ludwig.
“The singles released so far have been liked – as far as I can tell – which makes me feel dangerously confident in the rest of the record. As the all-knowing algorithm has it, if you liked that, you’ll love this, right? Hope so.” Greenwood wrote. “Aside from anything, the brass and strings players who helped out – I really can’t wait for you to hear all their work too.”
As for the excessive amount of time building up to the release, Greenwood continued, explaining how he is certain the album is worth the wait. “We’re properly proud and excited for everyone to have the whole thing – but, it’s been a drawn-out process so far, with so many single songs released,” he states. “ I can only apologise for our tentativeness. Patience is a virtue, but then, so are sobriety and humility – and they’re not happening either.”
The Smile is set to embark on a tour across Europe this summer, following the release of the album. Dates for shows in North America have yet to be announced.
The full tracklist for A Light For Attracting Attention:
- The Same
- The Opposite
- You Will Never Work in Television Again
- Pana-vision
- The Smoke
- Speech Bubbles
- Thin Thing
- Open the Floodgates
- Free in the Knowledge
- A Hairdryer
- Waving a White Flag
- We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings
- Skrting on the Surface