破格の新バンド、ザ・スマイル
1stアルバム発売決定!!

レディオヘッドのトム・ヨークとジョニー・グリーンウッドがサンズ・オブ・ケメットのトム・スキナーと結成した破格の新バンド、ザ・スマイルが遂にデビュー・アルバム『A Light For Attracting Attention』をリリース!!
イギリスの詩人テッド・ヒューズの詩から取ったというバンド名を掲げ、2021年5月にグラストンベリーのサプライズ・ゲストとしてその存在が明らかになった後、怒涛のシングル攻勢、ソールドアウトとなった24時間3連続公演ライヴの世界同時配信など大きな注目を集めてきた3人が満を持して世に放つ本作。
アグレッシヴなポスト・パンクでリスナーを驚かせた「You Will Never Work In Television Again」、甘美なアフロ・チューン「The Smoke」、トム・ヨークがパンデミック後に初めて公衆の場で披露した「Free In The Knowledge」といった先行曲に加え、レディオヘッドやアトムス・フォー・ピースのライヴで披露されながらも公式にリリースされてこなかった幻の楽曲「Skrting On The Surface」と「Open The Floodgates」が遂に音源化!
アルバムは盟友ナイジェル・ゴドリッチがプロデュースとミキシングを務め、名匠ボブ・ラドウィッグがマスタリングを担当。またロンドン・コンテンポラリー・オーケストラによるストリングス、バイロン・ウォーレン、テオン&ナサニエル・クロス、チェルシー・カーマイケル、ロバート・スティルマン、ジェイソン・ヤードといった現代UKジャズ奏者たちによるフル・ブラス・セクションが参加した全13曲を収録。

発売・販売元 提供資料 （2022/04/21）

Upon first listen, one might mistake the Smiles debut, A Light for Attracting Attention, for a Radiohead album. Considering that bands Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood (as well as longtime producer Nigel Godrich) are two of the three core members of this side project, its not a surprise. Conceived during the COVID-19 lockdown as a way for Yorke and Greenwood to jam, the Smile also features drummer Tom Skinner of modern jazz group Sons of Kemet, who invigorates the album with his lively backing and dizzying time signatures. With the help of Greenwoods friends in the London Contemporary Orchestra and various jazz artists from Skinners orbit, the trio lean into their progressive and psychedelic tendencies here, sounding like an expansive, mind-bending version of Yorke and Greenwoods main band. Many of Radioheads typical hallmarks -- anxiety, dread, angst, and tension -- are present, with Yorke delivering reliably passionate performances and heady lyrics across all tracks. The frantic, horn-backed storm "You Will Never Work in Television Again" and the driving, synth-hazed "We Dont Know What Tomorrow Brings" channel the anger and frustration heard on Hail to the Thief, winding up as the most aggressive Yorke has sounded in years. Meanwhile, the elastic groover "The Opposite" and the jittering "Thin Thing" find the trio locked-in as a formidable unit, with Skinners drumming building to head-rattling levels as Greenwoods guitar noodling and Yorkes detached falsetto push the songs to bewitching heights. On the opposite end of the energy scale, the atmospheric "The Same" envelops like a dense fog and the hypnotic "Pana-vision" weaves haunted piano and drums with Amnesiac strings, as the ethereal "Speech Bubbles" and the sci-fi sweep of "Waving a White Flag" create widescreen cinematic moments of orchestral beauty. Theres something here for fans of any era, but as a reference for longtime devotees, A Light for Attracting Attention bests The Eraser as Yorkes finest non-Radiohead effort and falls somewhere amongst A Moon Shaped Pool and King of Limbs in terms of scope and daring. As such, diehards should be quite pleased with this release: an utterly satisfying set of songs that stands tall on its own, yet could easily climb the ranks against any of Radioheads late-era efforts. ~ Neil Z. Yeung

Rovi