mxdwn.co.uk » youll never work in television again https://www.mxdwn.co.uk all that matters in music in the UK Thu, 30 Apr 2026 23:26:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1 The Smile Announce Full UK and European Tour https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/the-smile-announce-full-uk-and-european-tour/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/the-smile-announce-full-uk-and-european-tour/#comments Tue, 01 Feb 2022 13:36:09 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=52710 Hot on the heels of their live debut (in front of an actual audience), that being 3 shows in the round set over a space of about 15 hours last Friday/Saturday, the critical reception was almost as positive as the complete amazement from fans. The 3 90-minute shows seemed to give a great idea of what exactly it is The Smile are offering us; after months of confusion and particularly vague announcements. Now, the group have taken their legitimacy to the next level by announcing a series of tour dates in the UK and across the EU, including a myriad of festival appearances. See here for more details on The Smile’s tour dates.

Beginning in Croatia in mid-May, the opening months of the tour see the group playing some decent-sized venues. Appearances in Austria, Germany, and Sweden all take place before the 4 announced UK shows – 2 at London’s Roundhouse, 1 at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall, and 1 at Manchester’s Albert Hall; unfortunately for anyone in Wales or Ireland. The tour will also see the likes of Spain’s Primavera Sound Festival, Poland’s Open’er Festival, and Switzerland’s Montreux Jazz Festival to mention a few. The final date will be one to look for if you get the opportunity through, the Teatro Antico di Taormina in Italy is an ancient Greek theatre dating back to the 3rd century. The perfect backdrop for Yorke, Greenwood, and Skinner.  Wherever you may choose to see them, what we are still waiting on is album details. But with the various livestreams put out already… it’s not too hard to find the music anymore. Below, for example, see a Joe Jackson cover the band played at 2 of the 3 debut live shows.

If you’re unfortunate enough to not be able to attend any of these dates, here’s a brief rundown of some key moments from the debut shows I believe you should still be aware of. It’ll either spur you on to get to a show, spoil the experience for you so you don’t even have to go anymore or just sit there idle and we can all move on. Jonny Greenwood playing a harp and synthesizer at the same time, Greenwood also playing the bass guitar with a violin bow (very cool), a rather dramatic telling of William Blake’s ‘The Smile’ from none other than Cillian Murphy, an updated version of ‘lost’ Radiohead track ‘Skirting on the Surface’ that I’m pretty sure ended up being played in 15/16 for any of you nerds, and (of course) anything else Jonny Greenwood did. Absolutely worth a go if, of course, you have a choice.

See below the few UK dates for The Smile:

29/05/22 – Roundhouse – London – Roundhouse
30/05 – Roundhouse – London
01/06 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh
02/06 – Albert Hall – Manchester

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/the-smile-announce-full-uk-and-european-tour/feed/ 0 The Smile Perform First Shows In Front of an Audience https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/the-smile-perform-first-shows-infront-of-an-audience/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/the-smile-perform-first-shows-infront-of-an-audience/#comments Sun, 30 Jan 2022 14:52:40 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=52603 After first being made aware of their existence back in May 2021, Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner – or as they are now known The Smile – have maintained a particularly elusive approach to pretty much every aspect of their early period as a band. Minimal information on anything, 2 completely contrasting singles ahead of the album, and 3 shows (all performed within 15 hours of each other) in the round at ‘Magazine’ in London; with an accompanying international raffle for tickets. Aside from the Glastonbury livestream that they were announced, give or take 6000(?) people flocked down to the band’s first shows on the disenchanting side-streets of Greenwich to get a glimpse of something… anything.

Beginning at 8pm, for those of us only fortunate enough to bag a livestream ticket, the first thing that catches our eye is just how pretty it all is. For a band ironically named after a Ted Hughes poem, their eye for cute lighting is absolutely on point. You also can’t help but notice the consistency of everything they’ve put out so far. The Glastonbury stream, all of the practice sessions on their socials, and now their first gigs – all are happening with the 3 members stood in a circle simply letting everything happen around them. Once the music started, I’m not even sure they remembered we were there… that’s a good thing by the way. Aesthetics aside, there were myriad musical moments that I feel everyone should be aware of: Jonny Greenwood playing a harp and synthesizer at the same time, Greenwood also playing the bass guitar with a violin bow (very cool), a rather dramatic telling of William Blake’s ‘The Smile’ from none other than Cillian Murphy, an updated version of ‘lost’ Radiohead track ‘Skirting on the Surface’ that I’m pretty sure ended up being played in 15/16 for any of you nerds, and (of course) anything else Jonny Greenwood did. We’re now aware of 12 Smile songs, until an announcement for the album drops… I guess this is just all we know. Some especially sneaky fans managed to get a bit of footage from the night, see below the encore to show 2.

The only difference between all the shows is one that only the attendants of the first show will really feel bad about, that’s the inclusion of a set-closing cover of ‘It’s Different for Girls’ by Joe Jackson. After the minute or 2 of applause for an encore of 2 and 3, the band would come back on and reveal new Smile track ‘Just Eyes and Mouth’ and then the cover. Unfortunately for everyone at show one, Yorke, Greenwood and Skinner just didn’t fancy it that time. I’d link a video but the exclusivity of the event means that if you want to see the show, you’ll have to get hold of someone with an on-demand code. Good luck, it’s worth it. Until then, here’s their latest single ‘The Smoke’ and its accompanying video. See Below.

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