Out of seemingly nowhere, The Smile has released their second album of the year: Cutouts. For context, The Smile is a small group composed of the vocalist from Radiohead, Thom Yorke, the drummer for Sons of Kemet, Tom Skinner, and Radiohead's guitarist, Jonny Greenwood. Their first record was released in 2022, with their sophomore self-titled album releasing two years later in Jan. 2024. Both records made a substantial splash in the music critic world upon their respective releases. Personally, I remember seeing promotional posters and window-clings still on record store doors for their self-titled album when I visited London in late March. When the minds behind Radiohead release a project, music-heads generally take notice.

 

That being said, I don't hold The Smile to a Radiohead standard, I don't see The Smile as a pseudo-Radiohead group, and to be frank, I don't place Radiohead on a pedestal. This made Cutouts for me, all the more disappointing.

 

The project starts strong with its first track, "Foreign Spies." Its sparkling synths and dreamy vocals are immediately captivating and moving. Track two, "Instant Psalm," uses chilled-out strings to elicit the feeling of walking through a calm forest in the middle of a cool summer day. Then, track three, "Zero Sum," gets funky with a cowbell, quick plucky guitars, and brass wind instruments.

 

From there, the songs become less captivating. While it's a fine ambient art-rock record, it fails to remain interesting for its full 44 minute runtime. It doesn't iterate on itself or introduce new ideas, leaving the project feeling homogenous. The Smile has definitely found their sound, but they can’t seem to break out of it.