Meaning of “Bending Hectic” by The Smile
The Smile is a rock band that was just formed in 2020, consisting of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, who respectively act as lead vocalist and guitarist, buttressed by drummer Tom Skinner.
They’ve released one studio album thus far, 2022’s “A Light for Attracting Attention”, which did well for itself critically, especially in their homeland of the United Kingdom. And as for “Bending Hectic”, this track was released as a standalone single on 20 June 2023.
The credited writers of this song are the aforementioned trio of Yorke, Greenwood and Skinner, with Thom, who’s recognized as its primary author, reportedly completing the task just 30 minutes prior to The Smile first performing it.
That transpired during the 2022 Montreux Jazz Festival, which is an event held in Switzerland during the summer. As such, fans of the band have known about this song for about a year already.
The producer of “Bending Hectic” is established Radiohead collaborator Sam Petts-Davies. Also to note, this track features contributions from the London Contemporary Orchestra, was recorded in London at the legendary Abbey Road Studios and is roughly eight minutes in length.
The Lyrics of “Bending Hectic”
The lyrical presentation of this song is quite interesting. It is based on a narrative where the vocalist is in an automobile and, let’s say by the looks of things, is taking a dangerous turn at an unsafe speed. But as implied he continues to maintain that trajectory nonetheless, to the point where he and the other occupants end up going “over the edge” of what reads like a cliff on “an Italian mountainside”.
Naturally, we will take it that Thom is not actually recommending such a life-threatening course of action, and what’s being relayed here is metaphorical or analogous.
The pre-chorus especially seems to drive home the intended point. And that would be the notion of the vocalist riding high or proceeding forward in life confidently and not being privy to letting anyone ‘bring him down’. Or interpreted a bit more recklessly, it’s as if he has decided he’s going to live life his way and face the consequences accordingly.
But as also implied in the chorus, this doesn’t mean that Thom is hardheaded per se. Remember that the title of this song is “bending hectic”. And relatedly, it appears as if what the vocalist is saying, conclusively, is that whereas he’s able to perceive dangers ahead, he’s not going to change course but rather “turn” with the frantic flow, if you will. And if in the process he ends up taking a loss, then so be it.
