Cutouts (studio album) by The Smile

Not bad but not as good as the first The Smile album of 2024.

Up until October, 'Wall of Eyes' was my album of the year, no doubt. I loved this album; it moved me in ways no other album has this year.

So, when I heard The Smile had a new album coming, I was skeptical. How could they top 'Wall of Eyes', a nearly perfect album? Why release two albums in a year?

Then I listened to Cutouts. And it became clear. They had two distinct moods to convey. While 'Wall of Eyes' is moody and atmospheric, 'Cutouts' is raw and edgy. If 'Wall of Eyes' were circles, 'Cutouts' would be squares. And both albums are awesome. But right now, I must say I'm deeply attached to 'Cutouts' —its amazing guitar riffs, great drumming, occasional perfect string arrangements, and wonderful melodies. This album just works for me.

And you know what? I think I now have a new album of the year.

From Strangel 10/26/2024 05:48

Zero Sum - wow. Can’t get this song off repeat at the moment. That frenetic guitar of Johnny’s is next level.

Seriously, once you let these songs seep in they grab you completely. Amazing album.

It's not worse than "Wall of Eyes", far from it, it's another great album. It also goes into my top 10 of 2024.

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From Strangel 10/07/2024 07:22

This is definitely not a B-sides album. Yes, the songs were recorded at the same time as Wall of Eyes but they collated 2 albums of very different aesthetics - the various songs chosen to best suit the feeling they were looking for. This album is a meandering jam that incorporates all the playful skills they possess as musicians. It’s another grower which is what makes Thom/Johnny projects so much fun to indulge in. There’s so much to unpack in a seemingly unconvoluted album. This has the potential to be my favourite album as a whole of theirs, pieced together for a greater single work. Their other albums have singularly better songs, no doubt, but there’s something more cohesively interesting here, like pulling together a loosely sewn seam so that the edges come together without a gap in between.

Not as strong as the previous Smile albums but still fascinating, wonderful and weird.

There are definitely some great songs on here but it does feel a bit like a B-sides compilation and certainly doesn't flow as well as Wall of Eyes did (as a result it will get a lot of comparisons to Amnesiac). However it's still certainly worth your time if you're a Radiohead fan