Album review: The Smile - Wall of Eyes
Posted by Charley, Customer Service on 8th Sep 2026
The Smile’s sophomore album is a decidedly more spacious, cinematic, and compositionally focused effort than their debut. This second outing is equal parts neo-psych, classic-Radiohead, jazz, and contemporary prog.
The Smile return from A Light For Attracting Attention with an album that sits up there with Radiohead’s best efforts. 2024’s Wall of Eyes combines lush orchestrations with the live sound of a tight three piece, providing the canvas for Thom’s lyrics about the insidious nature of social media in current society. This is reflected in the title which infers the constant surveillance and scrutiny we are put under in the age of social media – a common theme in Thom and Johnny’s prior works as part of Radiohead. Comparisons of The Smile to Radiohead are inevitable as a primarily a Yorke/Greenwood project, yet, this is more than a mere retread of their glory days.
The band swap out the electronics and synths, for the most part, to hone their sound as a three piece, focusing on rhythmic interplay and slow-building dynamics. As a result, it ends up more successful than their previous effort. The arrangements primarily utilise guitar, vocals, bass, and drums with the London Contemporary Orchestra (LCO) occasionally popping in to blissfully open up the sonic landscape. Greenwood’s orchestral arrangements evoke the deeply moving string mastery of Harry Robinson and Robert Kirby on Nick Drake’s three landmark albums. This is particularly evident on the title track, ‘I Quit’, ‘Friend of A Friend’, and the album’s leading car-crash themed single ‘Bending Hectic’. The inclusion of strings doesn’t detach the listener from the razor-sharp focus on the three primary musicians or feel overly over-produced. Instead, the LCO add depth and intrigue to each track as if they were shading the ideas marked out in bright colours by the core members. Then, on occasion, they also let out some hair-raising thrills such as when Thom states he’s lost control of the car on ‘Bending Hectic’ and the strings turn cold, static, and discordant – its moments like this that make this album truly unforgettable.
Yet, if any musician shines in particular here it’s Sons of Kemet’s Tom Skinner on drums. Flutters of snare and tom fills effortlessly provide flashes of paint on ‘Under Our Pillows’ while the drumming on ‘Read The Room’ lumbers menacingly forward like a lost King Crimson-era Bill Bruford session. Meanwhile, Johnny Greenwood’s guitar experimentations reach a peak on the calming ‘I Quit’ which features use of Max8 digital processing; an audio-manipulation tool commonly used by electroacoustic composers. Even if Johnny’s spiky asymmetric riff on ‘Under Our Pillows’ resembles Radiohead outtake ‘Thin Thing’ from The Smile’s debut a little too closely, it provides the foundation for an intricate and engaging groove.
As for Thom, his vocals are a little less idiosyncratic if not more versatile and I think this is in the album’s favour. His direct delivery paints the songs perfectly and he uses the full range of his voice to bring these tracks to life. This is particularly evident on the intimate piano ballad ‘Friend of a Friend’. Thom’s falsetto and chest voice blend between each other to carry a distinctly human fragility through the song’s narrative. Not to mention, Thom’s fantastic melodic bass playing on this track that rivals McCartney. Attentive listeners will notice the less-than-subtle nod to The Beatles ‘A Day In The Life’ on this track. I also recommend watching the charming music video for ‘Friend of A Friend’ that shows the band play in front of a primary-school audience.
Instead of good-ol’ Nigel Goodrich, Sam Petts-Davies sits in the production suite and absolutely delivers. The quality and variety of production choices on this record make it a must-listen for Hi-Fi nerds and vinyl enthusiasts alike. Whether on headphones or a home Hi-Fi setup, Petts-Davies puts you in the same room as The Smile. The space, presence, detail and warmth in these recordings are perfect for testing a turntable or new amplifier. If you need any advice on the best kit to give this a spin on, pop into your local Richer Sounds for some inspiration and expert advice!
On first listen, the two opening tracks, ‘Wall of Eyes’ and ‘Teleharmonic’, ease you in gracefully but perhaps a little too softly. It’s ‘Read the Room’ with it’s whacked-out neo-psych march that properly kicks off the album on a flawless run of tracks until ‘Bending Hectic’. Then, where ‘Bending Hectic’ should truly explode into utter chaos as the narrator’s car crashes, the sonic depth shrinks and crushes what should be the best moment on the album. The guitars fuzz out and the drums smash away, but it sounds sat-on and flat where it should be monstrous. From here, the album closes with a little fizzle on the album’s second piano-ballad ‘You Know Me!’ which is easily the least memorable song of the bunch. It feels as if tracks three through to seven are an entire feature film and the two openers and closer that bookend it remind you that you’re just listening to a The Smile record. Regardless, Wall of Eyes certainly grows on repeated listens and is well worth your time even just to experience the absorbing journey at the album’s centre.
Ultimately, Tom, Thom, and Johnny have outdone themselves. Expectations are high and swiftly defied. There’s no doubt the two founding members are from one of the most illustrious bands in the history of music, however The Smile triumph in the creative freedom having escaped the long ‘modified bear’-shaped shadow of Radiohead. Free from the behemoth, Wall of Eyes sounds more alive than anything Thom and Johnny have put their name to in the last ten years. Although some of the ideas lack direction, there’s a beating heart at the core of Wall of Eyes that makes it much more than the sum of its parts and well worth multiple listens.
