The Smile has officially announced Cutouts, after dropping a series of clues on social media. The LP, their third, is set for release on Oct. 4.
“We lovingly submit our latest 45-minute (?) record Cutouts,” the Smile said in an new statement, “to be swallowed up by the fast running stream, down into the giant ever-growing river and on to the sea.” Cutouts is available for pre-order now on compact disc, black or white vinyl, cassette and digital formats.
New videos for “Zero Sum” and “Foreign Spies” were also released. See both clips, a complete track listing and album artwork below.
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Internet sleuths have been working feverishly to sort and solve clues from the supergroup featuring Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead and Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner. One Instagram post, for instance, was said to spell out the words “three zero sum” when using a Polybius cipher. The best guess was that these clues hinted at song titles.
In the meantime, the Smile quietly released a new single in early August featuring a studio version of the 2024 concert staple “Don’t Get Me Started,” backed by “The Slip.” (Clues from a band tweet led another fan decoder to believe the song would be sixth on the track listing – and that turned out to be true.)
The single was produced and mixed by Sam Petts-Davies, who also helmed the Smile’s widely acclaimed Wall of Eyes from earlier this year. An accompanying video for “Don’t Get Me Started Again” was then released a week later.
Cutouts is also produced by Petts-Davies, with string accompaniment from the London Contemporary Orchestra. The album art was painted during the recording process by Stanley Donwood and Yorke.
Wall of Eyes followed the Smile’s debut, 2022’s A Light for Attracting Attention. The band also released a pair of live recordings after their first LP went to No. 5 in the U.K., The Smile at Montreux Jazz Festival July 2022 and Europe: Live Recordings 2022.
The Smile, ‘Cutouts’ Track Listing
“Foreign Spies”
“Instant Psalm”
“Zero Sum”
“Colours Fly”
“Eyes & Mouth”
“Don’t Get Me Started”
“Tiptoe”
“The Slip”
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“Bodies Laughing”
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Gallery Credit: Tim Karan