The Smile announced the release date for its upcoming second full-length album, Wall of Eyes, on Monday (Nov. 13), revealing that the follow-up to 2022’s debut LP, A Light for Attracting Attention, will drop on Jan. 26 via XL Recordings. The latest from the Radiohead spin-off group fronted by that group’s singer Thom Yorke and guitarist Jonny Greenwood as featuring Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner will coincide with a series of UK and European headlining dates in March.
The 8-song album was produced by Sam Petts-Davies (Warpaint, Frank Ocean) and recorded at Abbey Road Studios and in Oxford, UK, with string arrangements by the London Contemporary Orchestra. A video for the brooding five-minute title track directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza, Phantom Thread) also dropped on Monday and it finds singer Yorke contemplating connection in a hectic world.
The black and white clip opens with Yorke sitting alone in a room staring at the projected image of a giant eyeball as a wild wind suddenly whips him, forcing the morose vocalist out into the crowded, buzzing city streets and packed bars, where he appears to float unaffected through the swirling chaos.
Pre-sale tickets for the European tour will go on sale on Wednesday (Nov. 15) at 9 a.m. UK time, with a general onsale following on Friday (Nov. 17) here.
Watch the “Wall of Eyes” video, see the album’s track list and The Smile’s European tour dates below.
Wall of Eyes track list:
- “Wall of Eyes”
- “Teleharmonic”
- “Read the Room”
- “Under Our Pillows”
- “Friend of a Friend”
- “I Quit”
- “Bending Hectic”
- “You Know Me!”
The Smile March 2024 tour dates:
March 13 — Copenhagen @ K.B. Hallen
March 15 — Brussels @ Forest National
March 16 — Amsterdam @ AFAS Live
March 18 — Brighton @ Brighton Centre
March 19 — Manchester @ O2 Apollo
March 20 — Glasgow @ SEC Armadillo
March 22 — Birmingham @ O2 Academy
March 23 — London @ Alexandra Palace