Thom Yorke Loves The Smile, Doesn’t Care If You Want A Radiohead Reunion

Yes, I wrote “Radiohead reunion” in the headline. We would have to call it a reunion at this point, right? The band hasn’t performed together since 2018 or released new music since 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool. If they got back on stage, we’d definitely say they reunited for their first show in however many years. Even if they haven’t officially broken up — even if they got together to rehearse this year — the rubicon has been crossed. Radiohead are not a going concern.

A big reason for that: Thom Yorke loves being in the Smile. Obviously you know the deal, but in case any randos who are truly and fully checked out from Thom Yorke current events stumble across this post, just before the pandemic, Yorke’s Radiohead bandmate Jonny Greenwood invited him to join a new project with jazz drummer Tom Skinner, which became a new band called the Smile. Given that Yorke and Greenwood are the two most important members of Radiohead, the Smile are functionally Radiohead without the back catalog or the weighty legacy that goes along with it. It’s a chance for Thom and Jonny to create freely at a brisk pace, without all the pressure that comes along with A New Radiohead Album. It’s why the Smile have released three albums in two and a half years, including two in 2024 alone. They’re on a roll.

It’s been exciting to get so much music from these guys in quick succession, but loyal readers will note that my assessments of January’s Wall Of Eyes and the recent Cutouts boiled down to this is cool and good, but I could really use a new Radiohead album. I know I’m not alone in that sentiment. Unfortunately, Yorke has every right not to give a shit what we want, and indeed he gives not a shit at all.

In a new interview with Australia’s ABC News, Yorke points out that he doesn’t owe anybody anything. “No offence to anyone and err, thanks for caring,” Yorke says. “But I think we’ve earned the right to do what makes sense to us without having to explain ourselves or be answerable to anyone else’s historical idea of what we should be doing.” Later in the piece, he continues, “I don’t think we feel the need to live up to anything. That feels like a non-problem. We are in this privileged position where we are still able to make music because of Radiohead, so no complaints.”

Yorke also credits producer Ben Petts-Davies for his ability to capture ideas as they happen, “before we’ve moved on to something else or lost our way.” Is that an implied critique of Nigel Godrich? I certainly hope not, but dammit it might be. However, despite the quick pace they’ve been moving at, Yorke doesn’t feel like they’ve been especially prolific because he’s always working on music, it’s just coming out in quick succession right now. Also, the Smile have been on pause since Greenwood’s health scare this summer.

Lastly, regarding Radiohead’s recent get-together, when asked how it felt reconvening after everyone had followed their own muses in recent years, and whether that changed the way Radiohead’s members collectively approached things, Yorke simply stated, “Yeeessss. I don’t think I have anything to add to that. Is Muses the plural of muse? The mind boggles.”

The extremely reasonable takeaway from all this: Those of us who’ve been longing for new Radiohead music need to accept the current state of affairs, stop living in the past, and be grateful for the wealth of tunes we are receiving from the Yorke-Greenwood camp. Blah!