A Light for Attracting Attention
| The Smile
A Light for Attracting Attention
A Light for Attracting Attention is the debut album by the English rock band the Smile. It was digitally released through XL Recordings on 13 May, 2022, with a physical release on 17 June. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
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.
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Vulture
The uncertainty — about what tomorrow holds and about where a song will take us in the end — feels like 2022, even while the Smile nods to Bends and Hail to the Thief. That synthesis makes A Light for Attracting Attention a real treat, a trickle of nostalgia from guys who don’t do that much.
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Rolling Stone
Radiohead’s songwriting nucleus team with jazz drummer Tom Skinner on ‘A Light for Attracting Attention,’ a lower-stakes, jammy album with some of their most straightforward songs in years.
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The Guardian
Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood team with Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner for a debut that may not be head-spinningly different, but is still exceptional.
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Stereogum
A Light For Attracting Attention is a reward in its own right.
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AllMusic
There's something here for fans of any era, but as a reference for longtime devotees, A Light for Attracting Attention bests The Eraser as Yorke's 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 Radiohead's late-era efforts.
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Popmatters
The Smile aren’t a full-on syncretism of Radiohead and Sons of Kemet, but A Light for Attracting Attention proves that it needn’t be.
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Sputnik Music
A delicately-crafted work fusing experimentalism and sheer sonic beauty, A Light For Attracting Attention stands proudly on its own merits as a top-tier piece of art rock, connections to a certain critically and publicly acclaimed band aside.
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Loud and Quiet
Of all the projects to emerge from the Radiohead camp, The Smile are certainly deserving of making it beyond the listenership of super-fans only. So whether you’re chomping at the bit for a new Radiohead album, or simply want to listen to some wonderfully executed and experimental alternative rock, this is a record worthy of your time.
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Uncut
Radiohead duo re-emerge refreshed as avant-jazz trio.
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Beats Per Minute
It’s a sullen way to conclude an album, but that’s long been Yorke and Greenwood’s wont, and they know how to make it land like a kiss that rends the ground beneath your feet. It is a fitting send off for the album and, who knows, it might even be the last song we hear from The Smile – with all three members having so many other commitments, there’s no guarantee they’ll ever do it again. However, with evident chemistry like this, we can only hope The Smile bubble back up to the surface one day – when the time is right.
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Louder
The Smile have just released the best Radiohead album in over a decade.
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Medium
A Light for Attracting Attention is a new flame from veteran musicians — natural, bright, and inviting.
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Far Out Magazine
On the whole, the album comes as an exceedingly satisfying listen and is, for me, one of the finest albums of the year so far. The album covers a broad range of emotions and musical styles in a seemingly effortless blend of jazz, dub, classical, electro and alt-rock. Does it cover much new ground? Not really, but did it need to? The Smile have condensed and consolidated most of the best aspects of Yorke and Greenwood’s past 30 years with Radiohead into an eclectic yet monolithic project. I’m excited to see what move they make next.
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Under the Radar Magazine
While the record feels thoroughly like a Radiohead album, that familiarity makes it a welcome salve without the usual pomp and weighty expectations of a massive release. The Smile’s looser creative approach offers a new light and welcoming side to Yorke and Greenwood, all while showcasing the enduring creative chemistry behind two of their generation’s most celebrated musicians.
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Paste Magazine
The Smile’s A Light for Attracting Attention Is a Heady, Groove-Filled Debut for Radiohead Veterans.
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XS Noize
A Light for Attracting Attention amplifies that we don’t know what tomorrow will bring for the entity that is Radiohead. But regardless of the future path of Radiohead, The Smile has much to attract attention and is worthy of any serious music aficionado’s consideration.
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The Wee Review
Everything you’d expect from Yorke and Greenwood, but it could have been more.
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In Review Online
The Smile’s debut record may arrive with smaller stakes than its respective members’ flagship projects, but it compensates with a welcome agility and looseness to its sonic playground.
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The New Statesman
This is a sublime record that shows the benefits of only slightly rearranging a tried and tested formula.
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AllMusic
There's something here for fans of any era, but as a reference for longtime devotees, A Light for Attracting Attention bests The Eraser as Yorke's 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 Radiohead's late-era efforts.
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Vinyl Chapters
Deftly and with great poise and imagination, the captivating music on A Light For Attracting Attention ushers the listener with an uncluttered, organic warmth and electrifying passages of juxtaposition whilst obeying its own private rules.
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mxdwn Music
A Light for Attracting Attention is a brilliant album, one which shows the artistic genius of Yorke and Greenwood. After a nearly thirty-year-long career, it is remarkable that these musicians can maintain a keen sense of ingenuity. The Smile’s debut album is a cohesive and impressive project that radiates confidence and creativity.
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Erie Reader
It's better that A Light For Attracting Attention isn't a Radiohead album, as it gives The Smile a fair shake at exploring their own unique path.
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Treblezine
A Light for Attracting Attention wants to hone the results so they shine like a lighthouse for the listing ship, but acknowledges they may amount to little more than flame for the curious moth.
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The Line of Best Fit
The Smile retains the Radiohead sound and quality with A Light For Attracting Attention.
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Post-Trash
They still manage to build an experience on A Light for Attracting Attention that for Radiohead fans is extremely religious, a structured suitcase of everything that you, Greenwood, and Yorke have always emphasized. While The Smile project might not be a key to access and "spread the message" to those who don't already chew and know too much about Radiohead, the album certainly has a coherence, experimentation, and sense of care.
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Exclaim!
It's too familiar-sounding to be revelatory, but six years on from A Moon Shaped Pool — the longest-ever break between Radiohead albums — it's a pleasure to hear Yorke and Greenwood's talent undiminished as they hit the sweet spot of their sound.
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Clash Magazine
The gang is still here, in 2022, in their bloody element, vindicated. Duty-bound to release yet another exquisite evocation of the human condition and uplift our weary spirits with a smile.
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Record Collector Magazine
Far more than an indulgent side project, A Light For Attracting Attention deserves to be taken on its own merits as a daring, invigorating and often very moving piece of work in its own right. Its genre-hopping, musically curious approach has effectively given The Smile free reign to do whatever they please should they reconvene, and the material will make for some stunning live shows. It should also give those involved a sense of renewed purpose when it comes to the next Radiohead project, whenever that may appear. For now, though, The Smile can stay another day.
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The Irish Times
The question whether Radiohead will follow up A Moon Shaped Pool any time soon becomes a lot less important upon hearing A Light for Attracting Attention. The Smile have released the best album of 2022 so far.
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