The Smile, made up of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner, present a compelling performance at 3Arena, earning them a perfect five-star rating. They pose the question of how we can seek transcendence in a seemingly unfavourable world. The show starts with James Holden easing us into the experience, his performance flawlessly reflecting the implications of his recent record, setting the stage impeccably for The Smile’s performance where they seamlessly blend psychedelia and trance.
The Smile’s recent compositions, such as 2022’s ‘A Light for Attracting Attention’ and this year’s ‘Wall of Eyes’, exhibit their evolving talent. They skilfully break free from past conventions, fostering a milieu of unrestrained creativity. Their propensity for weaving intricate layers into their music is evident in songs like ‘Read the Room’, where a persistent bassline underpins the melody, and ‘The Opposite’, dominated by Skinner’s drums, where Yorke relays the notion of “logical absurdity”.
The theme of logical absurdity echoes throughout their performance, in their offbeat rhythms, Yorke’s apology for Brexit, and Greenwood’s unconventional guitar techniques. Their collective perspective suggests that a song is not a standalone piece but part of an ongoing artistic process, making any other approach appear ludicrous. Their continual evolution and incorporation of new creations, such as ‘Instant Psalm’ and the infectious ‘Zero Sum’, add to their enchantment.
Additional musicianship from Robert Stillman on saxophone and synthesisers brings an engaging depth to The Smile’s performance, encapsulating the “altered state” mentioned in the tongue-in-cheek track ‘Friend of a Friend’. Yorke’s voice shines, with soulful fragility in ‘Speech Bubbles’ and a stroke of eccentricity in ‘Skrting on the Surface’.
The music presents a variety of reflective elements, oscillating tones and themes, weaving an intricate acoustic mural; from the guitar play in Thin Thing and Under Our Pillows, to the frenzied essence of You Will Never Work in Television Again and We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings. This extends to the denser tonal spectrum on Bending Hectic and the gravitas of The Smoke.
Teleharmonic’s encore meeting evokes a type of invocation, condensing much of The Smile’s outlook – we’re ensnared in fishing nets, albeit in a profusely perceivable world. This mirrors the “wide-eyed” eeriness of Pana-Vision, enhanced by splendid piano melodies. This music is crucial, smart, and affectionate, postulating an inquiry rather than a declaration. It resonates more with the cosmic journeys of Pharaoh Sanders or Alice Coltrane – a realm where bold rhythms coexist with heavenly saxophone, and shadows of baroque playfully mingle with dub.
The synergy among the performers suggests that each performance is unique – an invigorating concept. The Smile gear themselves towards a lofty vision outlined by Mark Twain in 1906: a major, elevating, and cleansing boon amidst our materialistic and greed-driven era.