The Smile have been working on new music for the last 7 weeks
The Smile have confirmed that they have been working on their second album.
The supergroup – made up of Radiohead‘s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner – told fans the news at the end of an email newsletter that was announcing additional North American tour dates. “We’re deep in recording, week 7,” The Smile wrote. “Reel 15.” The group didn’t reveal any further details.
A prospective album would be the follow up to 2022’s ‘A Light For Attracting Attention’. Although the album came out less than a year ago, the band have already debuted some new songs live. They played a new song called ‘Bending Hectic’ at Montreux Jazz Festival in July, whose lyrics Thom Yorke said had been written ‘about half an hour’ before they were due to play. They also debuted three other songs throughout the summer while on tour in Europe – ‘Bodies Laughing’, ‘Friend Of A Friend’ and ‘Colours Fly’.
The band will be returning to North America for a string of 18 shows, which includes their first ever gig in Mexico City. You can see the full list of dates below and buy your tickets here.
JUNE
21 – Mexico City, Auditorio Nacional
22 – Mexico City, Auditorio Nacional
25 – Austin, TX, ACL Live at The Moody Theater
29 – Miami, FL, James L. Knight Center
30 – St Augustine, FL, The Saint Augustine Amphitheatre
JULY
2 – North Charleston, SC, North Charleston Performing Arts Center
3 – Asheville, NC, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
5 – Richmond, VA, The National
7 – Forest Hills, NY, Forest Hills Stadium
8 – Philadelphia, PA, Franklin Music Hall
10 – Pittsburgh, PA, Stage AE
11 – Cleveland, OH, Agora Ballroom
15 – Laval, QC, Canada, Place Bell
19 – Kansas City, MO, Midland Theatre
20 – Chesterfield, MO, The Factory
Recently, The Smile delivered a three-song set for the latest edition of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series.
Joined by saxophonist Robert Stillman for the performance, the band played ‘Pana-vision’, ‘The Smoke’, and finished with ‘Skrting on the Surface’.
Speaking about the performance, Tiny Desk host and producer Bob Boilen said: “They arrived early, along with saxophonist Robert Stillman, to test out several tunes and figure out just what made sense behind my desk — minus the volume and effects that shape the album’s sonic landscape. For roughly 90 minutes, the Tiny Desk crew was treated to a casual rehearsal, witnessing the band’s creative companionship work itself out, settling on four songs.”
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Emma Wilkes
NME
