The Smile debuted “Bending Hectic” at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 12, 2022, and have continued to include it on setlists since. The band released the song as a standalone single almost one year later, before eventually including it on Wall of Eyes in 2024.

At just over eight minutes in length, “Bending Hectic” is The Smile’s longest song. Jonny Greenwood’s delicate guitar-picking and Tom Skinner’s fluttering percussion give the first part of the song a dreamy yet uncertain atmosphere, before chromatic, cascading strings take to song into an explosive finale. True to its title, Jonny Greenwood is heard “bending” his guitar strings throughout the song.

The lyrics describe a feeling of suspended time during a car accident. It’s not the first time this theme has cropped up in Thom Yorke’s lyrics, as Radiohead’s “Airbag” and “Killer Cars” also deal with automotive disasters.