Cutouts

The Smile comprise the Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood with the drummer Tom Skinner.{{Cite news |last=Savage |first=Mark |date=2021-05-22 |title=The Smile: Radiohead stars to debut new band at Glastonbury live-stream |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-57204594 |access-date=2021-05-23 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}} They performed several future Cutouts songs in early live performances in 2021 and 2022.{{Cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=2021-05-23 |title=See Radiohead Side Project the Smile Perform New Song 'We Don't Know What Tomorrow Brings' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/radiohead-side-project-the-smile-perform-new-song-1173508/ |access-date=2024-08-29 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Skinner |first=Tom |date=2022-05-26 |title=Watch Radiohead side-project the Smile debut new track 'Bodies Laughing' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/radiohead-side-project-the-smile-debut-new-song-bodies-laughing-footage-watch-3234348 |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=2022-07-10 |title=The Smile Share 'Colours Fly' And Thom Yorke Says New Music Is Coming |url=https://uproxx.com/indie/the-smile-colours-fly-thome-yorke-new-music/ |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=Uproxx |language=en-US}}

Cutouts was produced by Sam Petts-Davies and recorded in Greenwood's home studio in Oxfordshire and in Abbey Road Studios, London, in the same sessions as the previous Smile album, Wall of Eyes (2024).{{Cite web |last=Vito |first=Jo |date=2024-08-28 |title=The Smile announce new album Cutouts, release two songs |url=https://consequence.net/2024/08/the-smile-new-album-cutouts-zero-foreign-spies-zero-sumsum-stream/ |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=Consequence |language=en-US}} Yorke said the Smile split the songs into two groups to do them justice and avoid burnout.{{Cite news |last=Newstead |first=Al |date=2024-10-21 |title=Thom Yorke loves working with the Smile and doesn't care if you want Radiohead to reform |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-21/thom-yorke-the-smile-interview-cutouts-australian-solo-tour/104490320 |access-date=2024-10-21 |work= |publisher=ABC News |language=en-AU}} According to Greenwood, Cutouts was half-finished when Wall of Eyes was released, with additional parts recorded while the Smile were on tour.{{Cite web |date=4 October 2024 |title=BBC Radio 6 Music - New Music Fix, the Smile chat about new album Cutouts |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00234kg |access-date=2024-10-04 |publisher=BBC |language=en-GB}} He stressed that Cutouts did not comprise "leftovers" and was instead "its own record".{{Cite web |last=Trendell |first=Andrew |date=2024-10-10 |title=Jonny Greenwood tells us about the Smile's Cutouts and the 'fun and natural' Radiohead reunion |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/jonny-greenwood-interview-the-smile-cutouts-radiohead-return-3801554 |access-date=2024-10-10 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}

Greenwood used a delay pedal extensively for his guitar parts. "Zero Sum" was inspired by footage of Microsoft executives dancing at the Windows 95 launch event.{{Cite journal |last=Denekampf |first=John |date=10 October 2024 |title=An online meeting with the Smile |journal=Oor}} Yorke wrote "Bodies Laughing" more than 20 years previously, but was unable to finish it. After performing it live, the Smile turned it into a "paranoid easy-listening tune". "Tiptoe" was played at global promotional listening parties for Wall of Eyes.{{Cite web |last=Trendell |first=Andrew |date=2024-01-19 |title=The Smile dismiss the Beatles' influence and share advice for struggling creatives |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-smile-interview-the-beatles-abbey-road-advice-creative-thom-yorke-jonny-greenwood-3573942 |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} Greenwood first performed the riff from "Eyes & Mouth" on Radiohead's 2016 tour during performances of their song "Talk Show Host".{{Cite web |last=Walton |first=Sam |date=2 October 2024 |title=The Smile — Cutouts |url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/reviews/the-smile-cutouts/ |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=Loud and Quiet |language=en-US}}

The album title refers to cutouts, an espionage term that Yorke discovered while reading about Russian interference in western politics: "Cutouts are like two-dimensional characters placed to facilitate backdoor connections with an asset ... I think it was the two-dimensional nature of the description I got stuck on. A new Cold War world of two-dimensional proxy characters." He connected this to the "atomisation and isolation from world events" caused by social media, and asked: "Why the fuck would we be online with two-dimensional avatars of each other as if they are really us, and try to engage with complex issues using two or three sentences?"

Cutouts has been described as experimental rock, art rock{{cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/the-smile-cutouts-album-review/|title= The Smile, 'Cutouts': Album Review|first=Michael|last=Gallucci|date=October 1, 2024|website=Ultimate Classic Rock|access-date=October 7, 2024}} and math rock.{{cite web|url=https://www.treblezine.com/the-smile-cutouts-review/|title= The Smile : Cutouts (Album Review)|first=Langdon|last=Hickman|date=October 7, 2024|website=Treble|access-date=October 8, 2024}} Slant called it "more challenging" than Wall of Eyes, prioritising atmosphere over conventional songwriting.{{Cite web |last=Parkinson-Jones |first=Lewie |date=2024-09-30 |title=The Smile Cutouts review: atmosphere and ambition |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/the-smile-cutouts-album-review/ |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=Slant Magazine |language=en-US}} Pitchfork said was "looser" and "funkier".{{Cite web |last=Schonfeld |first=Zach |date=10 October 2024 |title=The Smile: Cutouts |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-smile-cutouts/ |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} The lyrics address capitalism, climate change denial and sociopolitical dread.

Uproxx described "Don't Get Me Started" as "synth-heavy" and "propulsive".{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Aaron |date=2024-08-08 |title=The Smile's 'Don't Get Me Started' video is a trippy digital chase |url=https://uproxx.com/indie/the-smile-dont-get-me-started-video/ |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=Uproxx |language=en-US}} "Zero Sum" is high-tempo and rhythmically busy, with "hyperactive" lead guitar.{{Cite web |last=Deville |first=Chris |date=2024-08-28 |title=The Smile announce new album Cutouts: hear 'Zero Sum' and 'Foreign Spies' |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2277865/the-smile-announce-new-album-cutouts-hear-foreign-spies-zero-sum/music/ |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=Stereogum |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Trendell |first=Andrew |date=2024-03-11 |title=The Smile live in London: a jazz-punk adventure in an entirely new world to Radiohead |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/live/the-smile-london-hammersmith-apollo-radiohead-review-setlist-photos-3599692 |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} "Eyes & Mouth combines "spiralling" riffs with a "rolling" drumbeat and jazzy piano chords.{{Cite web |last=DeVille |first=Chris |date=2024-09-26 |title=Premature evaluation: the Smile Cutouts |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2279890/the-smile-cutouts-album-review-thom-yorke/reviews/premature-evaluation/ |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} Stereogum described "Colours Fly" as a combination of the Radiohead songs "Pyramid Song" and "The National Anthem", with an Egyptian scale and "clouds of noise". "Instant Psalm" features strings, an "earthy" melody and an acoustic guitar playing a pedal note, which Loud and Quiet likened to Radiohead's 1995 album The Bends. "Tiptoe" is a piano ballad with orchestral strings.

File:The Smile Brighton March 2024.png

In March 2024, the Smile began a European tour, including a performance at 6 Music Festival in Manchester with the London Contemporary Orchestra.{{Cite web |last=Geraghty |first=Hollie |date=2024-01-23 |title=The Smile add extra London show to March 2024 UK tour due to phenomenal demand |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-smile-add-extra-london-show-to-march-2024-uk-tour-due-to-phenomenal-demand-buy-tickets-3575559 |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Scoop |date=2024-03-10 |title=The Smile Perform with London Contemporary Orchestra: Setlist + Video |url=https://consequence.net/2024/03/the-smile-perform-concert-with-london-contemporary-orchestra-setlist-video/ |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=Consequence of Sound |language=en-US}} The shows included performances of some Cutouts songs. The August tour was canceled after Greenwood was temporarily hospitalised with a serious infection.{{Cite web |last=Youngs |first=Ian |date=2024-07-12 |title=Jonny Greenwood: Radiohead guitarist treated in intensive care |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dmp5x758xo |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

On 2 August 2024, the Smile released "Don't Get Me Started" and "The Slip" as a double single on vinyl. It was released without promotion and only in stores.{{Cite web |last=Chelosky |first=Danielle |date=2024-08-03 |title=The Smile surprise release new songs 'Don't Get Me Started' and 'The Slip' on vinyl only |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2274535/the-smile-surprise-release-new-songs-dont-get-me-started-the-slip-on-vinyl-only/news/ |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} "Don't Get Me Started" was added to digital services on 8 August, accompanied by a video directed by the audiovisual artist Weirdcore, with "glitchy" computer graphics reminiscent of generative artificial intelligence.{{Cite web |last=Dunworth |first=Liberty |date=2024-08-08 |title=Listen to the Smile's trippy new single 'Don't Get Me Started' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/listen-to-the-smiles-trippy-new-single-dont-get-me-started-3782074 |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}

Later in August, the Smile released the album track list in a series of ciphered messages on social media.{{Cite web |last=Rigotti |first=Alex |date=2024-08-25 |title=The Smile appear to be teasing a new album |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-smile-appear-to-be-teasing-a-new-album-3787028 |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Abby |date=2024-08-25 |title=The Smile appear to tease LP3 in social media ciphers |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2277643/the-smile-appear-to-tease-lp3-in-social-media-ciphers/news/ |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} They announced Cutouts on 28 August, alongside the release of "Foreign Spies" and "Zero Sum" on streaming services, accompanied by more videos by Weirdcore. On October 1, the Smile announced a pair of art installations, Through the Glass, in London and New York City, with new songs and Weirdcore visuals.{{Cite web |last=England |first=Adam |date=2024-10-01 |title=The Smile announce 'electronic art installations' for new album Cutouts in London and NYC |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-smile-announce-electronic-art-installations-new-album-cutouts-london-nyc-3798737 |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} "Bodies Laughing" was released on 2 October.{{Cite web |last=Hatfield |first=Amanda |date=2 October 2024 |title=The Smile share 'Bodies Laughing', announce NYC & London pop-ups |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/the-smile-share-bodies-laughing-announce-nyc-london-pop-ups/ |access-date=2 October 2024 |website=BrooklynVegan}}{{Cite web |date=2024-10-02 |title=The Smile Share New Single "Bodies Laughing": Listen |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2282785/the-smile-bodies-laughing/music/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} Cutouts was released on 4 October, in digital, CD, cassette and vinyl formats.

On 19 February 2025, the Smile released a single comprising remixes of "Don't Get Me Started" and "Instant Psalm" on digital services and on 12" vinyl.{{Cite web |last=Murray |first=Robin |date=2025-02-19 |title=James Holden, Robert Stillman remix the Smile |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/news/james-holden-robert-stillman-remix-the-smile/ |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=Clash |language=en-GB}}{{cite news |last1=Monroe |first1=Jazz |date=19 February 2025 |title=The Smile share new remixes by James Holden and Robert Stillman |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/the-smile-share-new-remixes-by-james-holden-and-robert-stillman-listen/ |access-date=19 February 2025 |work=Pitchfork}} The remixes were by James Holden, who supported the Smile on their 2024 tour, and Robert Stillman, who accompanied them during live performances. Weirdcore created new videos for the single.

{{Music ratings

| ADM = 7.8/10{{Cite web |title=Wall of Eyes by The Smile (reviews) |url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/14110/The-Smile-Cutouts.aspx |access-date=November 3, 2024 |publisher=AnyDecentMusic?}}

| MC = 82/100{{cite web |title=Cutouts by The Smile Reviews and Tracks |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/cutouts/the-smile |website=Metacritic |access-date=5 October 2024}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web |last=Simpson |first=Paul |title=The Smile – Cutouts Album Review |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/cutouts-mw0004364171 |website=AllMusic |access-date=3 November 2024}}

| rev2 = Clash

| rev2score = 9/10

| rev3 = Evening Standard

| rev3score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web|last=Robinson|first=Martin|title=The Smile - Cutouts album review: who needs Radiohead anyway?|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/music/the-smile-cutouts-album-review-b1185284.html|date=October 4, 2024|access-date=November 3, 2024|work=Evening Standard}}

| rev4 = Exclaim!

| rev4score = 6/10{{cite magazine |last=Boissonneault |first=Stephan |date=3 October 2024 |title=The Smile Could Have Cut Out Some of Cutouts|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/the-smile-cutouts-album-review|magazine=Exclaim! |access-date=3 November 2024}}

| rev5 = The Guardian

| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev6 = The Independent

| rev6score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web |last=O'Connor |first=Roison |date=4 October 2024 |title=The Smile: Cutouts album review |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/the-smile-cutouts-thom-yorke-radiohead-b2623264.html|website=The Independent |access-date=3 November 2024}}

| rev7 = MusicOMH

| rev7score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/the-smile-cutouts|title=The Smile – Cutouts {{!}} Album Reviews|website=MusicOMH|last=Horton|first=Ross|date=4 October 2024|access-date=3 November 2024}}

| rev8 = NME

| rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev9 = Pitchfork

| rev9score = 8.0/10

| rev10 = Slant Magazine

| rev10score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}

}}

On Metacritic, Cutouts has a score of 82 out of 100 based on 14 reviews from critics, indicating "universal acclaim". In Stereogum, Chris DeVille praised the "incendiary" uptempo tracks and Greenwood's guitar work, but felt the slower tracks were less effective. He suggested that the longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, who produced the first Smile album, was a better match for slower tracks than Petts-Davies' "rawer and drier" production style. He concluded: "It's possible that the Smile could have built one masterpiece out of their pair of 2024 albums, but the two they've given are fascinating and rewarding enough to justify existing as distinct releases." The Clash critic Andy Hill praised the "ecstatic" atmosphere and Petts-Davies' "gleaming" production.{{Cite web |last=Hill |first=Andy |date=2024-10-03 |title=The Smile — Cutouts |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/the-smile-cutouts/ |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=Clash |language=en-GB}} In The Guardian, Phil Mongredien wrote that the songs were not immediate but that "repeated listening allows each to reveal its charms".{{Cite news |last=Mongredien |first=Phil |date=2024-10-04 |title=The Smile: Cutouts review – as intricately crafted as Radiohead but with added groove |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/oct/04/the-smile-cutouts-review-radiohead-thom-yorke-jonny-greenwood-tom-skinner-sons-of-kemet |access-date=2024-10-04 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}

The Slant critic Lewie Parkinson-Jones said Cutouts struck a good balance of styles and better resembled "the work of a proper band" than Yorke's previous side project, Atoms for Peace. He praised "Bodies Laughing" as "strikingly beautiful", with "well-placed key changes and the subtle introductions of new instrumentation". In The Arts Desk, Graham Fuller wrote that Cutouts was "not without beauty and technical brilliance", praising Yorke's "intimate" singing and Greenwood's "dextrous" guitar work. However, he felt it lacked melody and atmosphere, with a "random" track sequencing and abstruse lyrics, and found it less consequential than Wall of Eyes.{{Cite web |last=Fuller |first=Graham |date=2024-10-01 |title=Album: the Smile — Cutouts |url=https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/album-smile-cutouts |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=The Arts Desk |language=en}} The Loud and Quiet critic Sam Walton said that while Cutouts was less cohesive, its songs were "uniformly enthralling, captivating, thrilling and memorable", and suggested it was Yorke and Greenwood's best work since the 2007 Radiohead album In Rainbows. In NME, Jordan Bassett said the Smile "seem to be having more fun than ever" and sounded comfortable with their style.{{Cite web |last=Bassett |first=Jordan |date=2024-10-03 |title=The Smile – Cutouts review: Radiohead side project settles into a groove |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/the-smile-cutouts-review-3799173 |access-date=2024-10-05 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} In The AV Club, Ryan Reed described Cutouts as "chaos over continuity ... a lot of fucking fun, an adjective few would use to describe the also-brilliant Wall Of Eyes".{{Cite web |last=Reed |first=Ryan |date=5 October 2024 |title=The Smile's Cutouts might be Thom Yorke's most fun record to date |url=https://www.avclub.com/the-smile-cutouts-review-album |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=The AV Club |language=en-US}} Pitchfork described it as a "a thrilling testament to the near-telepathic chemistry these three musicians have honed across two years of touring", and felt the tracks where Skinner is least present, "Foreign Spies" and "Don't Get Me Started", were the only weak points.

{{Track listing

| headline = Cutouts track listing

| all_lyrics = Thom Yorke

| all_music = the Smile.

| title1 = Foreign Spies

| length1 = 4:48

| title2 = Instant Psalm

| length2 = 4:18

| title3 = Zero Sum

| length3 = 2:47

| title4 = Colours Fly

| length4 = 4:55

| title5 = Eyes & Mouth

| length5 = 3:59

| title6 = Don't Get Me Started

| length6 = 5:55

| title7 = Tiptoe

| length7 = 3:30

| title8 = The Slip

| length8 = 4:29

| title9 = No Words

| length9 = 4:16

| title10 = Bodies Laughing

| length10 = 4:57

| total_length = 43:54

}}

The Smile

• Jonny Greenwood – guitars, bass, piano, synthesizers, orchestral arrangements, cello, MaxMSP
• Tom Skinner – drums, synthesizers, percussion, vocals
• Thom Yorke – voice, guitars, bass, piano, synthesizers, artwork, design

Additional contributors

• Sam Petts-Davies – production, mixing, engineering
• Oli Middleton – engineering
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Tom Ashpitel – orchestral engineering, engineering assistance
• Pete Clements – studio technician
• Joe Wyatt – recording, engineering assistance
• London Contemporary Orchestra – strings on "Instant Psalm" and "Tiptoe"
• Hugh Brunt – conductor
• Eloisa-Fleur Thom – leader
• Robert Stillman – tenor saxophone on "Zero Sum", bass clarinet on "Colours Fly"
• Pete Wareham – baritone saxophone on "Zero Sum"
• Stanley Donwood – artwork, design

{{reflist}}

{{The Smile}}

Category:2024 albums

Category:The Smile albums

Category:XL Recordings albums

Category:Experimental rock albums by English artists

Category:Art rock albums by English artists

Category:Math rock albums by English artists