SPIN MAGAZINE – 30 Best Albums Of 2022 (So Far)

9 June 2022

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SPIN (American webzine): “Maybe 2022 was just front-loaded and the final six months will be less eventful. (Judging by the release calendar, that’s probably a bad prediction.) Either way, we had trouble even narrowing this down to 30. Let’s meet back here at year’s end and see how things shake out.”

– TOP 3 –

1. A Light for Attracting Attention by THE SMILE (with Thom Yorke)

“Mangled riffs and odd time signatures abound, and Yorke’s lifelong dread has never sounded more in tune with the outside world. A Light for Attracting Attention is so good, it almost makes you want to send Radiohead’s other three members a sympathy card.”

Stream here…

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2. ‘Caprisongs’ by FKA TWIGS

“A lockdown album billed as a mixtape, Caprisongs showed a less guarded and precise side of FKA Twigs. Perhaps that conceit served a deeper purpose, helping spur on some of her most playful and satisfying material.”

Stream here…

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3. ‘Ants From Up Here’ by BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD

“It’s hard to imagine Black Country, New Road without singer-guitarist Isaac Wood, who quit the band for mental health reasons. It’s especially hard to imagine after Ants From Up There. While their 2020 debut positioned the seven-piece as their era’s elite revivalists of talky post-punk, the second album took a gentle turn toward melody. BCNR created a romantic, pastoral landscape out of their jazz-flavored noise rock, even hinting at folk and chamber music while drawing on just a bit of Revolution Summer fire.”

Stream here…

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FULL LIST HERE

It Will Attract Your Attention – THE SMILE Debut With A Great RADIOHEAD Album

14 May 2022

Supergroup THE SMILE featuring radioheads Thom Yorke & Jonny Greenwood
and Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner have their long-awaited debut LP
A LIGHT FOR ATTRACTING ATTENTION
out and it’s no less than prodigious.

It could have been, easily, a new Radiohead LP. Entracing and
riveting with Thom Yorke at its feverish and vulnerable best.

Except for some amazeballs cherry bombs (You Will Never Work In Television Again / Thin Thing and We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings) Yorke comes up with characteristic slo-mo Radiohead musings. It sounds both familiar and astounding.

First-class work. Enough lights to attract my attention


(Press photo – FB The Smile)

Pitchfork says: “The debut from Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and drummer Tom Skinner’s new group is instantly, unmistakably the best album yet by a Radiohead side project… At 53, Yorke has seen them all. And once again, he’s battling the absurdity of existence the only way he knows how: by offering a salve for his anxieties without letting anyone off the hook for turning everything we hold dear into one big joke.” Score: 8.5/10.

Key singles/clips: Thin Thing / Free In The Knowledge

– THIN THING –

– FREE IN THE KNOWLEDGE

Stream the full album…

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THE SMILE: Facebook

Soulful Sunday… With THE SMILE (Feat. Thom Yorke) And New Heartfelt Single ‘FREE IN THE KNOWLEDGE’

Reveries for the laziest day of the week

After sharing 4 songs supergroup THE SMILE featuring radioheads Thom Yorke & Jonny Greenwood and Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner finally communicated details of their first LP. It’s titled A LIGHT FOR ATTRACTING ATTENTION and comes out on May 13th.

Along with the announcement, the trio shared a 5th track
called FREE IN THE KNOWLEDGE. A typical Thom York ballad,
sounding vulnerable and heartfelt.

Free in the knowledge
That one day this will end
Free in the knowledge
That everything is change

Listen/watch here…

THE SMILE: Facebook

Debut LP A LIGHT FOR ATTRACTING ATTENTION out May 13th – order info here