After debuting at the Montreux Jazz Festival last year, the Smile have released the new song “Bending Hectic.” The trio recorded the studio version of the track at London’s Abbey Road Studios this year. Sam Petts Davies – who’s worked with Thom Yorke, Radiohead, Frank Ocean, and more – produced the track, and the London Contemporary Orchestra played strings. Listen to “Bending Hectic” below.

“Bending Hectic” is the first single from the Smile since they released their debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention, last year. The band did not include the song on its Montreaux Jazz Festival live album.

“Bending Hectic” is a song that takes its time to describe a story. The story is about a dangerous drive where the driver is hallucinating on a mountainside. There are long pauses between each sentence, but the lyrics bring life to the song. The driver has a valuable car: “ A vintage soft top From the sixties”. He is hallucinating during his drive: “Time is kind of frozen And you’re gazing at the view And I swear I’m seeing double”. Despite his situation, he accepts his fate: “I’m letting go off the wheel It might be as well It might be as well”. The driver meets his fate: “The ground is coming for me now We’ve gone over the edge.” After he says “I’m letting go off the wheel”, the instrumental becomes louder. It makes a screeching sound like nails on a chalkboard accompanied by an even louder guitar. Everything dies down near the end.

Sam Pettes-Davies’ work with Radiohead goes back to the mid-2010s when he served as a recording engineer on Jonny Greenwood’s Junun. He continued his engineer work with Radiohead on the abandoned James Bond song “Spectre.” 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool, and OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017. Petts-Davies has also contributed to Thom Yorke’s Suspiria, Frank Ocean’s Blonde, and more.

The Smile will headline Pitchfork Music Festival, which takes place July 21-23 at Chicago’s Union Park. Tickets are on sale now.

Read about A Light for Attracting Attention at No. 21 on Pitchfork’s “The 50 Best Albums of 2022.”