“Cutouts” was released on October 4th of this year and is one of the most enjoyable musical creations I have heard in a long time. Created by the English art rock band “The Smile,” Cutouts breaks all the rules for standard rock and goes above and beyond what I expected. The band is made up of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner. Thom and Jonny have been well known as two of the most revered individuals in the alternative rock scene and are best known for their major roles in the band Radiohead.
Cutouts bring us a sweeping variety of soundscapes and aesthetics to explore, but despite this, it is not perfect and definitely could have been perfected in the song selection stage. I would love to give my opinion on every song but for the sake of time, I will just pick the few that I have the most to say about.
The opening track, “Foreign Spies” gives us a great taste of what is to come. With the layering of Yorke’s eerie vocals over a strange haunting synth backing, I immediately knew this would be a track I would have to come back to. Coming in right after that synth ballad, we get a great change of pace with “Instant Psalm.” This song feels almost spiritual and reflects a lot of classical Christian sounds. Mostly consisting of strings in an ethereal ascension and descension, Instant Psalm is a beautiful and calming addition to the album. Lyrically, this song stands out to me as it seems to describe finding a sense of tranquility in the chaos of the world around us with lines like “We overflow in a hurricane, we can feel no pain”. The song “Colours Fly” brings a new sound of menacing anger to the album. The rhythm of the guitar feels very wild and powerful, and the reverberating vocals are bold and chilling. The lyrics talk of giving someone permission to let their colors fly, or in other words not to hide your true self even if you’re much worse on the inside. The lyrics feel pointed and aggressive which just fit so well with the aesthetic. Colours Fly is also the first song that I started to notice how good of a drummer Tom Skinner is. His rhythm is on point, but he keeps this jazz-like flow to his playing that makes everything feel so fluid.
Immediately after “Colours Fly” we have what I believe is the best song on the album, “Eyes & Mouth.” Greenwood knocks it out of the park with the guitar on this song, and Yorke and Skinner match him all the way. Many songs on this album have a recurring theme of ascending and descending and I think “Eyes & Mouth” shows this off the best. The number of layered instrumentals gives so much depth, and Yorke’s singing on top of all that is just incredible. Lyrically, “Eyes & Mouth” paints a picture of someone floating through life with no real commitment or solidity, having no worries, and no attachments. The speaker sounds accusatory, but acceptant, which makes the lyrics only hit harder. This song is by far my favorite and if you get one thing out of this article, please just give “Eyes & Mouth” a listen.
The very few criticisms I have for this album are more about the consistency of the chosen songs and less about the quality or production of any one piece. There are a few tracks, mainly “Don’t Get Me Started” and “Tiptoe” that just do not do it for me. They have expertly crafted production but lack sufficient conclusion or meaning to be on such a diverse and eclectic album. All in all, I do think that “Cutouts” is genuinely great, and I have gone back to listening to it so many times since its release. “Cutouts” gets a solid 8/10 from me and I thoroughly look forward to whatever The Smile does next.
“The Smile” showcases a wide variety of songs in their new album.
