The Smile – “Skrting On The Surface”
The Smile, the new trio comprising Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood and Sons Of Kemet’s Tom Skinner, recently announced a European tour kicking off in May. They’ve also released the singles “You Will Never Work In Television Again” and “The Smoke,” debuted “Free In The Knowledge” as a solo acoustic Yorke performance, and covered Joe Jackson’s “It’s Different For Girls” at a livestreamed concert where they debuted even more new material.
Now, we’re getting another new song called “Skrting On The Surface,” which sounds a lot like if Radiohead had a horn section. That makes sense because the song originated as a Radiohead outtake many years ago, and because pretty much all of these Smile songs sound like Radiohead.
“Skrting On The Surface” also has a video, which you can watch below. Shot in 16mm black-and-white film by BAFTA-winning writer and director Mark Jenkin, the video was filmed within the Rosevale Tin Mine in Cornwall, UK. (A 2019 article talks about how a group of mining enthusiasts have actually spent the last four decades restoring the mine.) According to a press release, the film itself was hand-developed in water from the mine — which, wow.
Watch below.
Still no word on a release date for the Smile’s debut album, but with those tour dates lined up, it’s gotta be coming soon.