top of page

The Smile- A Light for Attracting Attention (review)

Published by Mason Oldridge, 15 May 2022


A Light for Attracting Attention is the result of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood’s work during lockdown with drummer Tom Skinner.

The album opens with The Same, a hauntingly eerie track that contains ambient sounds reminiscent of Kid A while maintaining their own sound of OK Computer, whereas tracks such as The Opposite and The Smoke are built around a repetitive bass line similar to How to Disappear Completely.


Unfortunately, what follows is essentially a regurgitation of these over again with slightly altered music and the songs fall foul of blending and risk being indistinguishable from each other.


Despite this, single Pana-vision contains piano and falsetto that encapsulates an atmospheric sound, making it a very suitable soundtrack for the Peaky Blinders finale. Furthermore, We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings introduces some much-needed energy to an otherwise boring collection of songs.


In conclusion, the album holds on to the infamous Radiohead sound and demonstrates the members talents yet lacks substance and memorability. Ultimately, the project doesn’t conjure up enough uniqueness and differentiation from the main band to constitute a separate project.


3/10

bottom of page