Songfacts®:

• "Wall of Eyes" is the opening and title track of The Smile's second album. It starts with a peaceful, samba-like vibe and later shifts into more complex territory with irregular rhythms, 5/4 time signature, and distorted guitars.
• Down a peg or two we all go
  Behind a wall of eyes
  Of your own device
  Is that still you?
  
  The opening lyrics set the stage for the brooding song's exploration of themes like self-perception, surveillance, and the nature of reality. The "wall of eyes" could symbolize the constant monitoring and scrutiny we face in the digital age. Or the "eyes" could be internal, representing our own self-criticism and judgment. The line "of your own device" suggests that our own thoughts and anxieties create these eyes.
• The black-and-white music video, directed by filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, adds another layer of visual intrigue to the song. It starts with Thom Yorke alone in a pub, staring at a giant projected eyeball. We then see the singer contemplating connection as he wanders through the crowded London streets and stands in a packed bar.
  
  The Smile guitarist Jonny Greenwood has scored the music for several of Anderson's films, including Licorice Pizza, There Will Be Blood and The Master. Anderson also helmed Radiohead's "Daydreaming" video along with Thom Yorke's Anima short film.
• Sam Petts-Davies (Warpaint, Frank Ocean) produced the song. Radiohead recorded it at London's Abbey Road Studios with the London Contemporary Orchestra.