Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood release melancholic single “Skrting on the Surface,” their latest track as The Smile and latest release after “The Smoke” and “5.17.”
Sons of Kemet’s Tom Skinner joins them to form The Smile and in this supergroup, according to mxdwn, there’s no shortage of talent. Yorke’s falsetto softly commands attention as Skinner’s background percussions fit perfectly for Yorke’s familiar high notes. Greenwood is the utility brains of it all as Yorke sings “Dull eyes trying to pull you through the ice. Being drawn to the ledge. When we realize that once we’re broke then nothing mends.”
Mark Jenkin shot the black and white official video on 16mm film which feeds into the solemn, mysteriousness of both the vocals and visuals. Yorke sings as he toils in a wet, dark underground mine. You can watch him pick up heavy rocks in the video below.
According to Consequence Sound, fans first heard a snippet of “Skrting on the Surface” in 2009, when Yorke performed it while on tour with Atoms for Peace. The Smile then performed it a few more times during their 2012 tour.
The band are back to focusing on their upcoming album after rounding up three epic London shows in late January.
Leave a Comment