Skrting on the Surface

"Skrting on the Surface"
Single by the Smile
from the album A Light for Attracting Attention
Released17 March 2022
GenreAlternative rock
Length5:31
LabelXL
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Nigel Godrich
The Smile singles chronology
"The Smoke"
(2022)
"Skrting on the Surface"
(2022)
"Pana-vision"
(2022)
Music video
"Skrting on the Surface" on YouTube

"Skrting on the Surface" is a song by the English rock band the Smile. It was released on 17 March, 2022, as the third single from the Smile's debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention.

"Skrting on the Surface" features guitar arpeggios in the time signature 11
8
. The singer, Thom Yorke, and the guitarist, Jonny Greenwood, developed it from an earlier unreleased song by their band Radiohead.

History

[edit]

Variations on the title phrase appeared on the Radiohead website around the time of their album OK Computer (1997).[1] The Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke, first performed "Skrting on the Surface" in 2009 in a solo piano rendition while touring with his band Atoms for Peace.[2] In 2012, Radiohead performed a different arrangement, which Pitchfork described as "a bleak slow-groover".[1]

In 2021, Yorke and the Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood announced a new band, the Smile, with the drummer Tom Skinner.[3] Skinner said "Skrting on the Surface" was one of the first songs they worked on, and developed from Greenwood's 11
8
guitar line. Yorke realised that the earlier song "fit perfectly on top".[4] Skinner recorded his drums in a single take, creating an "air of spontaneity".[4] The song was recorded by Radiohead's producer, Nigel Godrich, in his studio in London.[4]

The Smile debuted "Skrting on the Surface", then titled "Skating on the Surface", in a surprise performance for Live at Worthy Farm, a live video produced by Glastonbury Festival streamed on 22 May, 2021.[5] The single was released on 17 March, 2022.[6]

Music video

[edit]

The video for "Skrting on the Surface" was directed by Mark Jenkin, who also directed the video for the Smile's previous single, "The Smoke".[7][8] It was shot on 16 mm film in the Rosevale Tin Mine in Cornwall, England. Water from the mine was used to develop the film by hand.[9] The video was filmed during Storm Eunice and Storm Franklin; the crew were unaware of the damage done by the storm while they worked underground.[10]

Reception

[edit]

The Fader journalist Jordan Darville called the song "an unabashed channeling of what has made Greenwood and Yorke's creative partnership so successful over the course of many decades".[7] The Rolling Stone journalist Daniel Kreps said Skinner's drumming and Greenwood's arpeggios gave the song "a technicolour makeover" in comparison to the earlier versions.[9]

Track listing

[edit]

The song, on specific streaming services and digital storefronts, also contains the Smile's two previously released singles.

No.TitleLength
1."Skrting on the Surface"5:31
2."The Smoke"3:39
3."You Will Never Work in Television Again"2:48

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from album liner notes.[11]

The Smile

Production

Additional musicians

  • London Contemporary Orchestra
    • Hugh Brunt – orchestration
    • Eloisa-Fleur Thom – violin
    • Alessandro Ruisi – violin
    • Zara Benyounes – violin
    • Sophie Mather – violin
    • Agata Daraskaite – violin
    • Charlotte Bonneton – violin
    • Zoe Matthews – viola
    • Clifton Harrison – viola
    • Oliver Coates – cello
    • Max Ruisi – cello
    • Clare O’Connell – cello
  • Jason Yarde – saxophone
  • Robert Stillman – saxophone
  • Chelsea Carmichael – flute
  • Nathaniel Cross – trombone
  • Byron Wallen – trumpet
  • Theon Cross – tuba
  • Tom Herbert – double bass
  • Dave Brown – double bass

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Hogan, Marc (4 March 2016). "19 unreleased Radiohead songs that could be on their next album". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  2. ^ Young, Alex (21 July 2014). "Hear 12 potential songs for Radiohead's new album". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  3. ^ Savage, Mark (22 May 2021). "The Smile: Radiohead stars to debut new band at Glastonbury live-stream". BBC News. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Boilen, Bob (22 March 2022). "New mix: Arcade Fire, Valerie June, the Smile, Andrew Bird, more". All Songs Considered (Podcast). NPR. Event occurs at 19:37. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  5. ^ Kreps, Daniel (23 May 2021). "See Radiohead side project the Smile perform new song 'We Don't Know What Tomorrow Brings'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  6. ^ Brodsky, Rachel (17 March 2022). "The Smile – "Skrting On The Surface"". Stereogum. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  7. ^ a b Darville, Jordan (17 March 2022). "The Smile share new song/video 'Skrting On The Surface'". The Fader. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  8. ^ Childers, Chad (27 January 2022). "Thom Yorke + Jonny Greenwood Reveal The Smile's Second Single 'The Smoke'". Loudwire. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  9. ^ a b Kreps, Daniel (17 March 2022). "The Smile unearth unreleased Radiohead gem 'Skrting on the Surface' for new single". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  10. ^ Edwards, Danny (18 March 2022). "Mark Jenkin mines promo gold for Thom Yorke". Shots. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  11. ^ A Light for Attracting Attention (liner notes). The Smile. London, England: XL Recordings. 2022. FXL1196LP.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)