The Smile Announces New Album; Paul Thomas Anderson Directs Thom Yorke in New Music Video

The Smile has announced a new album “Wall of Eyes,” set for release on Jan. 26, 2024, via XL Recordings.

The trio, comprising Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood along with drummer Tom Skinner, also put out the album’s title track, accompanied by a black-and-white music video directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

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Anderson, whose filmmaking credits include “Phantom Thread,” “Boogie Nights,” “There Will Be Blood” and “Licorice Pizza,” previously directed Yorke in the 2016 music video for Radiohead’s “Daydreaming.” He’s also helmed seven music videos for Haim (including “Summer Girl” and “Now I’m in It”) and five for Fiona Apple (including “Across the Universe” and “Paper Bag”).

Shortly after their new album release, the Smile will embark on a headlining European tour kicking off in Dublin on March 7 and ending in London on March 23. The trio will hit Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam, Brighton, Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham. North American dates have yet to be announced.

Recorded between Oxford and Abbey Road Studios, “Wall of Eyes” was produced and mixed by Sam Petts-Davies and features string arrangements by the London Contemporary Orchestra. The follow-up to 2022’s “A Light for Attracting Attention,” the Smile’s sophomore album features eight songs, including “Bending Hectic,” which the band released in June after debuting it live at the 2022 Montreux Jazz Festival.

The Smile played a ton of new material on the band’s last tour, with Variety writing of their November 2022 show at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom, “All of the songs sounded lush, full and balanced, with Yorke’s ageless falsetto floating above the mix.”

Watch the video for “Wall of Eyes” below.

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