It’s been more than seven years since Radiohead released their last album, A Moon Shaped Pool, and the band continues to make no promises about what — if anything — will be next for the quintet.
But that doesn't mean its members haven't been busy. In fact, the musicians behind the GRAMMY-winning English alt-rock band have been active outside of it since the mid ’00s.
One of these notable projects is The Smile, formed in 2021 by Radiohead lead singer Thom Yorke and lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood. The group will release their second studio album, Wall of Eyes, on Jan. 26 before touring Europe this spring and summer.
Other independent endeavors have also been critically celebrated: Beyond The Smile, Jonny Greenwood composed soundtracks for films including Daniel Day Lewis’ romance/thriller Phantom Thread. Bassist Colin Greenwood (Jonny’s older brother) was recently part of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' touring band. Drummer Phil Selway released a solo album, Strange Dance, in Feb. 2023, while guitarist Ed O’Brien made his first foray into writing and recording during the early days of the pandemic on his album, Earth.
Selway believes these other pursuits are vital to Radiohead's reputation as one of the most innovative bands in history. "It’s such a healthy process when we step outside of Radiohead and reach beyond that," Selway told SPIN in 2023.
Still, there is a glimmer of hope Radiohead will soon return to the studio — perhaps encouraged by the success of 2021's KID A MNESIA, a reissue of their albums "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" along with previously unreleased material.
During a recent livestream with Crow Hill Company, as reported by NME, Selway said, "We’re all coming back around to that point now of thinking, Right, we’ve had a break — this is it. This feels like something to dive back into and really explore and see what other directions it can take us in."
No matter how the future unfolds for Radiohead, their dedication to maintaining everything in its right place remains certain.
Ahead of The Smile's new album, press play on 10 releases from Radiohead members' catalogs that showcase their affinity for musical exploration.
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Though the title of Thom Yorke’s first solo album is The Eraser, he didn’t erase his esteemed musical legacy. Rather, he took it even further into his exploration of electronic styles on the 2006 album. Where collaborative instrumentals were prominent with Radiohead's melodic rock sound, Yorke leaned hard on synthy sounds and techno beats.
Through his solo work, Yorke had complete freedom to develop comprehensive digital backdrops for his shuddering croon with longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. The band worked with Godrich to incorporate electronics on their albums Kid A (2000), Amnesiac (2001), Hail To the Thief (2003), and In Rainbows (2007).
The title track opens with a looping piano hook, teasing a familiar instrumentalism. But Yorke quickly takes things in a more synthetic direction with affected drums and mechanical arps. "Cymbal Rush," the album’s closer, features a jittery low-frequency rhythm section alongside haunting ambient washes. The track "Atoms for Peace" utilizes a similar underlying jitteriness, but with the warm and optimistic energy of bright pads and an uplifting synth bassline.
Atoms For Peace - Amok
Amok is the only studio album from Atoms For Peace, the band Yorke originally established to tour The Eraser as a full live experience. The group features Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on bass, Godrich on keys and programming, and seasoned session players Joey Waronker on drums and Mauro Refosco on Latin percussion.
Unlike The Eraser, Atoms For Peace made the music for Amok together with Yorke who described himself as the band's "conductor" in a Rolling Stone interview. After producing music on his computer, Yorke would bring it to the other band members to reimagine for production in a live space.
This collaborative edge is immediately apparent on Amok, released in 2013. Album opener "Before Your Very Eyes" implements the nonconventional rhythmic layering that Yorke applied throughout The Eraser, but the individual voice of each instrument shines through. Refosco’s percussion taps complement Waronker’s light cymbal play while the quickfire intro guitar line from Yorke shares that percussive quality. Interplay between Flea’s affected bass and Godrich’s programmed melodies, like a call and response, infuses the music with a human touch.
There Will Be Blood
Even when Radiohead is active, Jonny Greenwood moonlights as a film composer. The guitarist made his first foray into film scoring with the 2003 documentary, Bodysong. 2007's There Will Be Blood was his second score, launching his (and the rest of the band’s) persistent, fortuitous relationship with director Paul Thomas Anderson.
Greenwood has composed the soundtrack for four of Anderson’s last five films. Beginning with There Will Be Blood in 2007, then The Master (2012), Inherent Vice (2014), and Phantom Thread (2017). Anderson returned the favor, directing many works for Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool, including the music video for "Daydreaming," and live recordings of "The Numbers," and "Present Tense."
Greenwood’s score for There Will Be Blood demonstrates the fruitful nature of his relationship with Anderson. Matching the emotional dread of star Daniel Day-Lewis’s descent into madness, Greenwood weaves hauntingly tense string arrangements throughout the film, including the use of string bows as percussion instruments to shift the mood from melancholic to one of frenzy and discombobulation.
Philip Selway - Strange Dance
Phil Selway releases his music under his full name, and plays an entirely different role on his independent work than he does with Radiohead. As a solo artist, he writes all the songs and serves as the singer and guitarist instead of drumming. Released in February 2023, his third album, Strange Dance, features Portishead's Adrian Utley and electronics-focused multi-instrumentalist Hannah Peel.
On Strange Dance, Selway takes what he learned honing his writing skills as a film composer and applies it to a pop-infused setting with producer Marta Salogni. He adeptly layers guitar parts with opposing rhythms to build the foundation on notable tracks like "Picking Up The Pieces." The title track uses expressive alternative percussion instruments and Selway’s airy voice as a perimeter, contrasting with expansive string and horn passages.
Selway similarly ventured into film scores, composing the music for Polly Steele’s 2017 drama, Let Me Go.
Thom Yorke - ANIMA
Yorke transformed the electronic sounds of his third album, 2019's ANIMA, into a soundtrack for a music film of the same name, produced with Paul Thomas Anderson. Yorke is the film’s protagonist, and the film focuses on movement as much as it does the music. Dozens of dancers (including Yorke) engage in choreography that matches the unconventional sounds and rhythms throughout three songs from the album: "Not the News," "Traffic," and "Dawn Chorus."
During "Not the News," dancers cycle around Yorke, responding to his own movement as he stumbles his way from a subway station into an underground cavern. His steps follow the song's breakbeat kick while eerie squeals at the peak of the frequency range hang above his falsetto.
Eventually, he makes it back to the surface with the sun rising over an unnamed European city. When the melodious song, "Dawn Chorus" fades in, he is reunited with a woman he saw on the train earlier. He glides through the city alongside the song’s electronic backdrop while he states his lyrics with grounded confidence.
Dudu Tassa & Jonny Greenwood - Jarak Qaribak
Israel was one of the earliest countries to embrace Radiohead. The country's audience was the catalyst for the explosion of their now-mythical song, "Creep," when DJ Yoav Kutner frequently played it on his radio show. Since, the band has performed in Israel multiple times and brought Israeli artists on tour with them.
One of the Israeli artists who joined Radiohead on tour is Dudu Tassa, a celebrated rock musician and film composer. He and Jonny Greenwood first worked together on Tassa’s 2009 album Basof Mitraglim Le'Hakol, and in 2023, they recorded Jarak Qaribak, an album of nine Middle Eastern love songs.
The musical chemistry between them is palpable, enriched by their shared experience in both pop and film composition. Yet the songs also gracefully maintain harmony between their individual heritages. For example, Tassa produces sweeping strings and other Middle Eastern sonic hallmarks on "Taq ou-Dub," while Greenwood programs synthesized drums that could be spliced into a Radiohead song with ease.
EOB - Earth
Released in 2020 under his initials EOB, Earth was the first time Ed O’Brien wrote lyrics and recorded his own voice. He had been playing around with solo ideas since the days of OK Computer, and an extended trip to Brazil with his family in 2012 inspired him to create full songs.
O’Brien initially thought about bringing those songs to Radiohead or having Yorke provide vocals with different musicians. He was also concerned with what the rest of the band would think of his solo effort, but he didn’t let that deter him:
"Of course you want the approval of your bandmates but it’s not the be-all and end-all. This is my own thing. It’s different to Radiohead," O’Brien told Noise11 in April 2021.
O’Brien’s own thing is more guitar-driven than other side projects from Radiohead, but still features a wide range of influences. The album’s opener, "Shangri-La," is a hard rock tune built off heavy chords. The next track, "Brasil," is an eight-minute suite of organic house music. Serving as an homage to his inspiring trip there, this song contains a multitude of colors and soundscapes that flow in and out in perfect balance.
The Smile - A Light For Attracting Attention
The Smile is the first side project that includes two members of Radiohead: Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood are joined by Tom Skinner, previously the drummer for the now-defunct modern jazz ensemble, Sons of Kemet. With The Smile, Yorke and Greenwood once again return to their primary instruments: guitar and vocals
The group's debut album, A Light For Attracting Attention, was released in 2022 to critical acclaim and spawned a world tour. Following two guitar-light Radiohead albums — King of Limbs (2011) and A Moon-Shaped Pool (2016) — Jonny doubles down on his expert fretwork on A Light For Attracting Attention. Thom’s vocals fuel the sharpness of the guitar with pointed consonants and a noticeable lack of rhymes.
On "The Smoke," Jonny’s dialed-in guitar picking is the foundation, but he quickly begins playing with the meter, making 4/4 feel like something completely different (comparable to the intense syncopation of the Radiohead song "Myxmatosis"). Yorke and Skinner match this minimalism, creating space for an ensemble of horns and strings, a byproduct of Greenwood’s time as a composer.
"You Will Never Work In Television" sees Jonny and Thom rock harder than they have since In Rainbows. Open hi-hats from Skinner complement Jonny’s cruising, distorted strums that back Yorke's angsty cursing vocals.
Colin Greenwood's Myriad Bass Work
Colin Greenwood is the only member of Radiohead who doesn’t have a solo album to his name. Like plenty of bass players throughout time, Colin’s career mirrors that of his instrument: He’s rarely in the foreground, but his band members and musicians around the world respect his skills to the highest degree. It's no surprise Far Out Magazine describes Colin as "Radiohead’s secret weapon."
Within the Radiohead universe, Colin recorded bass for the EOB album, Earth, and Jonny Greenwood’s soundtrack for Inherent Vice. He is also electronically talented, providing beat programming on Yorke’s second solo album, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes.
Outside of Radiohead, Colin played on two albums from the Belgian-Egyptian singer Tamino: Amir (2018) and Sahar (2022). One standout track from Colin’s work with Tamino is the single "Indigo Night," which he performed with Tamino at SXSW in 2019. Colin proves his versatility in this romantic R&B song by serving as the vehicle moving the chord changes forward with skillful runs.
The Weird Sisters
This Radiohead side project has a minimal catalog of just three songs; they only convened for one performance, and they will probably never play live again. Yet millions of people have seen their one performance, because it took place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The Weird Sisters is the band that performs at the Yule Ball in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In the 2005 film, Jonny Greenwood plays the role of lead guitarist Kirley Duke, providing pick-heavy riffs on the song "This is the Night," while the drummer Orsino Thurston (played by Phil Selway) helms a four-on-the-floor beat.
Greenwood and Selway weren’t the only members of major UK bands to convene for a bit of magical fun. Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey of Pulp joined the Weird Sisters on vocals and bass, respectively. To kick off the night, Cocker beckons the students to be "ready for some real music" before launching into the hard rock banger, "Do The Hippogriff."
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