The Smile have shared a sombre new single called ‘Bodies Laughing’ – check it out below.
Released today (October 3), the track is the latest single to be shared from the band’s new album ‘Cutouts’, which is set for release tomorrow via XL Recordings – visit here to pre-order it.
The song comes as one of the softer-paced tracks on the record, and eases into the opening verse with a haunting instrumental melody. “Swaying side to side / Jaws are open wide / Hid under my hat,” Thom Yorke sings as the track gradually builds momentum. “Just to wind you up / Just to piss you off / Floating on their backs.”
Check it out below, alongside the vibrant, zombie-inspired visualiser.
‘Bodies Laughing’ marks the fifth single to be shared from ‘Cutouts’ ahead of tomorrow’s release. Earlier singles include ‘Foreign Spies’, ‘Zero Sum’, ‘Don’t Get Me Started’, and ‘The Slip’.
The latter two were recently released as a limited edition two-track 12-inch single at record shops around the world, and upon the release of the full record tomorrow, The Smile will also drop a brand-new, Weirdcore-directed video for upcoming track ‘Instant Psalm’.
While ‘Bodies Laughing’ has only just been shared officially this morning (October 3), the trio – comprising Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner – have been teasing the single since 2022.
It first made an appearance to fans as the band embarked on their European headline tour that year, in support of their debut album ‘A Light For Attracting Attention’.
They played it during their performance at Berlin’s Tempodrom venue, with the frontman telling the crowd: “So, yesterday we wrote another new song… we’re gonna try and play it.”
Since sharing the debut in 2022, the band have gone on to release their sophomore album ‘Wall Of Eyes’ at the start of this year.
Ahead of tomorrow’s official release, NME has given ‘Cutouts’ a four-star review, and described it as the band “seem[ing] to be having more fun than ever”.
“The Smile’s M.O., then, seems to be experimentation without the baggage of Yorke and Greenwood’s bulging back catalogue – and ‘Cutouts’ certainly delivers here,” it read. “Featuring the London Contemporary Orchestra, the album was recorded in Oxford and Abbey Road Studios alongside ‘Wall of Eyes’, but this is a freer, more playful set than its predecessor.
“Where that record boasted ‘Bending Hectic’, a lush, eight-minute ballad that collapsed into jagged dissonance that made Lou Reed sound like Aqua, this one presents ‘Instant Psalm’, a woozy pop song that channels The Beatles’ Indian classical phase.”
Earlier this week, the band started previewing the album via a series of ‘Through The Glass’ events in New York and London. The events included exclusive visuals from Weirdcore and codes to unlock album tracks before tomorrow’s release.
The Smile have been busy touring this year, but had to cancel various European tour dates in August following Greenwood falling ill and needing time to recover after a stay in intensive care. Yorke, meanwhile, is heading out on tour around Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Japan later this month and through to November.
