Cutouts. The Smile

And once again, I hear an album by The Smile. The third in two years and the second of 2024. Again I wonder why isn't this a Radiohead album? The answer by Johnny Greenwood in an 'Oor' email interview, is as direct as it is telling: "We can work faster this way". To me it sounds like it is much more fun for Johnny to just work with Thom Yorke and have Tom Skinner do some inventive drumming behind it, while Thom is painting in the studio on the side.

Despite having all Radiohead's albums and all of The Smile's, both will never become my favourite band nor be mentioned in my list of favourite albums. Yet, when something is released it is an event. Something to learn about and to have and play every once in while. But not more. Hence, Cutouts is in the home as LP since yesterday.

I understand that the songs were recorded in the same sessions that brought us 'Wall Of Eyes' earlier this year. My impression is that Cutouts is a lighter album. Of course all the strange rhythms are there, the weird noises and slow, lilting singing. It all sounds like Radiohead, uh, The Smile. As far as this duo can express (I suppose that they do have it at times) fun musically, it seems like they are having it here on Cutouts.

Of course, that is weird, as the two albums we the result of the same session(s). Then it's the result of serious choices what to put on one album. It's hard to say which one is the better album, Cutouts is here for only a few weeks. My inclination is to go for the latest album. For starters the weird noises and harmony voices in 'The Slip' make a song based on an impossible rhythm close to a pop song. There's also a lightness in a song like 'No Words' that is unusual for this band.

The album opens with a modern church hymne though. The text aside, I can imagine this being played and sang in Sunday mass. Trade the synth for a church organ and the lyrics for a psalm and bingo. 'Foreign Spies' is serious business, so for that matter it could be a James Bond theme for movie 26 as well. "It's a beautiful world", Thom Yorke sings and I almost believe him. Adding this song to it, I can only agree.

Magic dust is sprinkled over the world in the intro of 'Instant Psalm'. Matched by a little bit dirty sounding bass, the ballad is set into motion. Musically The Smile creeps close to The Beatles of  'Abbey Road'. The strings and synths are adding a lot to the song that is full of mystery. It shows that Greenwood and Yorke were having a good time just following their musicality and not their experimental side. That returns with the complex riffs of 'Zero Sum'. The fun of being able to do this is jumping out of the record. A track to dance to 'Zero Sum' is. On several songs on Cutouts The Smile explore, albeit in a very alternative way, their pop side.

Although drummer Tom Skinner is not (prominently) present in all songs, in most songs his complex rhythms set their pace and body. This draws the other two totally out of their comfort zone. Both are challenged and here we have the third difference with Radiohead. After three records the conclusion has to be that The Smile has its own right to exist next to the mothership, whatever its status in 2024 is. Based on Cutouts I'd say there's a lot more here to explore together.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to and order Cutouts here:

https://thesmile.bandcamp.com/merch