25 Jun 2023

The Smile - “Bending Hectic”

I wrote last year about The Smile’s “The Smoke,” a song I spent a lot of time with off an album I absolutely loved. The Smile is a Radiohead … what? Side project? Spinoff? Is it Radiohead now? It is a band that contains Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood, both of Radiohead, but also a jazz drummer, Tom Skinner of Sons of Kemet. So maybe a bit of all those things. Regardless, it is not unfair, I think, to say that A Light for Attracting Attention, The Smile’s debut record, felt like a continuation of Radiohead’s most recent album, 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool. That record struck a balance between the electronics of 2011’s The King of Limbs and the (relatively) straightforward rock of 2007’s In Rainbows. A Light for Attracting Attention does the same thing, making space for electronics while also allowing Yorke, Greenwood, and Skinner to find their version of a groove. That’s the version of the Radiohead universe that works best for me, the version that tries to experiment without losing touch with the real organic strengths the musicians bring.

On tour last year, The Smile worked songs out in front of audiences, sometimes debuting them the day they were written. Brand new track “Bending Hectic” was one of those songs. In its initial live form it ended with a guitar freakout I was sure would disappear by the time it appeared on record. Surprise! It’s here now, guitar freakout intact. For just about six minutes, Thom Yorke coos over soft drums and guitar, sharing a grim story about a driver who maybe lets go of the wheel on the side of an Italian mountain. Then the song shifts. The crash arrives, Greenwood’s strings shrieking, his guitar revving up and really ripping over a thunderous Tom Skinner beat. It’s great, a wonderful moment from a group of musicians who don’t often indulge themselves in a classic guitar solo. I’m not here to complain that Johnny Greenwood doesn’t let the guitar rip often enough. Not every song by The Smile, or by Radiohead, has to sound like this. It’s definitely fun to get a great guitar moment from them every now and again, though.

Sidenotes:

• Nigel Godrich isn’t credited with production on “Bending Hectic,” which is a surprise given how involved he’s been in just about every Radiohead/Thom Yorke joint over the last 30 years. If he had produced, would the guitar be so dominant in the last two minutes of the song?
• Tom Skinner is an incredible drummer and it’s a real shame that here, as on much of A Light for Attracting Attention, he’s a bit buried in the mix.
• The Smile has been in the studio for a little while now, if you believe the official Instagram. If this song is done, is an album coming soon? I hope so! Vinyl production being what it is, though, I am resigned to waiting until 2024.