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- Summary: The second full-length release from rock trio The Smile features string arrangements by the London Contemporary Orchestra and was produced and mixed by Sam Petts-Davies.
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- Record Label: XL
- Genre(s): Pop/Rock
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 24 out of 27
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Mixed: 3 out of 27
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Negative: 0 out of 27
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Jan 26, 2024It’s wonderful to find so many moreish layers in music that was, apparently, composed so quickly. Grab yourself a bean bag and settle in for the long haul with this one.
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Jan 26, 2024It may only be eight tracks long, but each song contains so much invention and ideas that repeated listens bring their own rewards. As the seemingly interminable wait for a new Radiohead album goes on, The Smile are making music that, at times, is equally extraordinary.
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Jan 25, 2024After the debut’s big bang, Wall of Eyes connects the particles into somewhere you, and perhaps these restless musicians, might like to make a home.
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Jan 22, 2024[Bending Hectic is] one of the best things Yorke and Greenwood have put their names to in at least a decade. Like the rest of Wall of Eyes, it really doesn’t feel interstitial, like a placeholder until the definite article reappears. What that portends for Radiohead’s future – if anything – is arguable; the album’s quality is not.
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Jan 25, 2024The Smile take more risks with this follow-up, resulting in a gorgeous, sometimes difficult trip into the unknown that, if only briefly, can make you forget about their main gig.
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Jan 24, 2024Whether Wall of Eyes is a last stop for the Smile or merely a layover to some yet-undefined place, it’s an undeniably mesmerizing trip.
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The WireFeb 8, 2024The music is gentle but ominous, and it’s hard to be sure which impression they want to linger. “Read The Room” and “Teleharmonic” are more conventional rock songs; the former in particular could have come off any 21st century Radiohead album. [Mar 2024, p.52]