The Smile, Cutouts ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Smile is back with their second album of 2024. This is an extremely fast turnaround for Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood, who, as members of Radiohead, are known for taking their time and making fans wait. But the juices must be flowing.
You may remember that their last album, Wall of Eyes, was the very first five star rating I gave after switching the rating system on these weekly reviews. But let me tell you, this album is even better. I’m not kidding. I went into it with high expectations, and it surpassed every single one of them.
On this album they ditch the more ambient sound altogether, barring the opening track, “Foreign Spies,” and focus on a more straightforward, guitar driven, groove based sound. This is the album that I and most people, I feel, have been waiting for from Thom and Johnny for a while now. I’m confident in saying this is by far their most rocking album since Radiohead’s In Rainbows.
Favorite song: “Zero Sum”
