Sometimes musical fandom is more like a trauma that you can’t let go rather than a cause of joy. For diehard fans of Radiohead, The Smile’s debut album A Light for Attracting Attention is obligatory.

The good news is that the musical artistry of Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood is not phoning it in. They’ve called in old friend Nigel Goderich to produce and the production is blessed by strings from the London Contemporary Orchestra, plus a full brass section peopled by luminaries from the contemporary UK jazz scene.

In other words, they’re trying. It’s not just Yorke diddling about with his laptop at home.

If you’ve braved other post-Radiohead vanity projects out of a sense of duty, you might be pleasantly surprised by where this Yorke/Greenwood-cum-Skinner release ranks in the grand scheme of Radiohead albums that are not Radiohead albums.

Our highlighted track “Thin Thing” is a bit of a mess.

Stream, share, buy to your heart’s content.