Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke is really loving his current job in The Smile, a side project composed of Yorke, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, and Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner. So much so, that when asked by Australian outlet Double J whether he’s paying attention to fans clamoring about Radiohead’s future, Yorke replied, “I am not aware of it and don’t really give a flying fuck.”
The Smile returned this month with Cutouts, the trio’s second album of 2024 and their third in three years. The band has been rather prolific in terms of their output, leading many Radiohead fans to believe that the beloved group would be put on indefinite hiatus so that Yorke and Greenwood could continue focusing on The Smile. This idea was cemented when Greenwood recently revealed that Radiohead had “no plans” for 2025, citing “lots of individual projects going on at the moment.”
Speaking to Double J, Yorke confirmed that Radiohead isn’t a major priority for him at the moment, and feels that he and the band have earned a bit of space and freedom to work on their respective projects. “No offence to anyone and err, thanks for caring. But I think we’ve earned the right to do what makes sense to us without having to explain ourselves or be answerable to anyone else’s historical idea of what we should be doing,” Yorke said.
The Smile is just one of several side ventures Radiohead member’s have kept busy with since the release of their most recent album, A Moon Shaped Pool, in 2016. Jonny Greenwood has been busy scoring films and racking up Oscar nominations, while bassist Colin Greenwood released a new photography book called How to Disappear: A Photographic Portrait of Radiohead this month and is touring with Nick Cave. Ed O’Brien and Philip Selway both released solo albums, while Yorke has also worked on numerous solo projects, including the score for the Italian drama film Confidenza this year.
Still, Radiohead convened for rehearsals over the summer, with Colin Greenwood telling NME, “We did some rehearsals about two months ago in London, just to play the old songs, and it was really fun, had a really good time.” When asked by Double J about the rehearsals and whether or not they were invigorating, Yorke provided a bit of a cryptic response: “Yeeessss. I don’t think I have anything to add to that.”
Throughout the interview with Double J, Yorke also discussed Cutouts and The Smile’s creative process in great detail. He feels the restless release strategy this year is very much aligned with how Jonny Greenwood works: “Jonny and I are on opposite ends of this spectrum,” Yorke said. “Jonny is more impatient and is often already working in the next room on another idea. I like working on the final details. I can’t help it … It is a relief to have it all flow and fit correctly.”
Yorke also previewed his upcoming solo tour of New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and Japan, which begins this week. It’ll mark his first time touring solo since 2019 and will feature Yorke playing “versions of songs from [his] recent and not so recent past.” “I’ve been working on this for a while, and with Sam [Petts-Davies],” Yorke said to Double J. “It is an experiment, a relatively simple one — well, not all of it. On stage there will be some machines, a guitar, piano, and myself. If it’s working, hopefully it will explain itself!” Get tickets here.
Meanwhile, Yorke also announced plans to adapt Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief for a new production of Hamlet.
