The Smile A Light For Attracting Attention

XL Recordings, Out now ★★★★★

The Smile began as a lockdown project by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood – the name comes from a Ted Hughes poem. Opener The Same has a deliciously menacing atmosphere, while the excellent You Will Never Work In Television Again is prog rock meets punk with Yorke sounding like an unhinged Mick Jagger. Pana-vision with its piano, woozy brass and Yorke’s falsetto sounds a little like a mid-Seventies Joni Mitchell track. Throughout, the London Contemporary Orchestra add depth. We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings nods to The Cure’s A Forest. Free In

The Knowledge feels most like a Radiohead song. But this is a very sturdy prospect in its own right, produced expertly by Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. Hopefully an Irish date will be added to their European tour.