Radiohead Offshoot the Smile Announce Debut LP

The Smile, featuring Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, will release their debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention, digitally on May 13 and in physical formats on June 17.

The 13-track album, which was produced and mixed by Nigel Godrich and mastered by Bob Ludwig, features strings by the London Contemporary Orchestra, plus a full brass section of U.K. jazz musicians.

"I feel grateful that we managed, with Nigel’s help, to record these songs in a way they deserve," Greenwood said in a statement. "And the singles released so far have been liked - as far as I can tell - which makes me feel dangerously confident in the rest of the record. As the all-knowing algorithm has it, If you liked that, you’ll love this, right? Hope so. Aside from anything, the brass and strings players who helped out - I really can’t wait for you to hear all their work too."

After the digital release on May 13, A Light for Attracting Attention will also be available on limited edition yellow vinyl, black vinyl and CD. You can view the album's track listing below.

"We’re properly proud and excited for everyone to have the whole thing - but, it’s been a drawn-out process so far, with so many single songs released," Greenwood continued. "I can only apologize for our tentativeness. Patience is a virtue, but then, so are sobriety and humility - and they’re not happening either."

Another single has also been released in conjunction with the album announcement. You can see the video for the new "Free in the Knowledge" below.

The Smile — Yorke, Greenwood, Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner — debuted new music in May 2021 during the Glastonbury Festival's Live at Worthy Farm livestream. While the trio played eight songs during its set, it didn't confirm the existence of an album until later that summer.

“It’s an interesting juxtaposition of things, but it does make sense. It will make sense," Godrich told The Coda Collection in July. Two months later, Greenwood told NME they were "sitting in front of a pile of music, working out what will make the record." He also noted that the LP would have come out "a few months" sooner if he'd made the final call.

“I’m the most impatient of everybody in Radiohead," he said. "I’ve always said I’d much rather the records were 90 [percent] as good, but come out twice as often, or whatever the maths works out on that. I’ve always felt that the closer to the finish, the smaller the changes are that anyone would notice. ... I’m always impatient to get on and do more.”

The Smile semi-formally announced the record in January, releasing their debut single, "You Will Never Work in Television Again." Later that month, they staged three consecutive live shows during 24 hours in London, paired with a livestream and a cinematic film directed by Paul Dugdale (who's worked with the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney).

The Smile, 'A Light for Attracting Attention' Track Listing
1. "The Same"
2. "The Opposite"
3. "You Will Never Work in Television Again"
4. "Pana-vision"
5. "The Smoke"
6. "Speech Bubbles"
7. "Thin Thing"
8. "Open the Floodgates"
9. "Free in the Knowledge"
10. "A Hairdryer"
11. "Waving a White Flag"
12. "We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings"
13. "Skrting on the Surface"