The Smile unveiled a new song called “Bending Hectic” during their set on Tuesday, July 12th at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. The trio, comprised of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner, also performed a number of fresh cuts that have debuted throughout their ongoing inaugural tour.
“Bending Hectic” was revealed during the band’s encore, with Yorke telling the crowd they wouldn’t know the words “because I just wrote them about half an hour ago.” That introduction has become a common refrain during The Smile’s tour as the nascent group has quickly built a sizable cache of new songs.
The Smile’s 2022 tour, in support of their debut album A Light for Attracting Attention, wraps its first leg in Europe next week. After a lengthy break, they’ll reconvene in November to embark on a North American leg. Grab your seats via Ticketmaster.
At their first tour stop in May, the trio performed a “skeleton” track called “Friend of a Friend” (now renamed “People on Balconies”), which the frontman shared “we literally wrote it today.” Days later, Yorke prefaced another developing tune titled “Bodies Laughing” by saying, “Yesterday we wrote another new song.”
The release of yet another freshly written track feels like a promise fulfilled by Yorke, who only days before quote tweeted a video of the new tune “Colours Fly” from their Primavera Sound set in June, saying, “New one … work in progress … there are a few ..” Now, with “Bending Hectic,” one more non-album original has (hopefully) entered the regular rotation.
Watch live footage of all the band’s latest offerings and check out their full Montreux Jazz Fest setlist below.
new one … work in progress … there are a few .. https://t.co/jPeNYiNVEz
— Thom Yorke (@thomyorke) July 10, 2022
Setlist:
Pana-vision
Thin Thing
The Opposite
Speech Bubbles
Free in the Knowledge
A Hairdryer
Waving a White Flag
Colours Fly
We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings
Skrting on the Surface
Bodies Laughing
The Smoke
You Will Never Work in Television Again
Encore:
The Same
Bending Hectic (New song, live debut)
Just Eyes and Mouth
Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses
