It was, most importantly, the first song for the album written with a breakbeat, which inspired me to carry on down that path. It’s about catharsis. The opening line is about pretending that something isn’t catastrophic when it obviously is. It’s about denial. It’s about pretending that the situation or your feelings for someone aren’t tectonic, but of course they are. And then, of course, in the chorus, everything pours right out. But tonally it feels like I’m at home base with ‘Smoke’. It has links to songs like [2019’s] ‘Pang’, which, for me, have this windswept feeling of being quite out of control, but are also very soulful and carried by the music. We’re getting a much more nocturnal, clattery, chaotic picture.

— via Apple Music

I really wanted to have some undeniable, anthemic diva moments, and so I was really picking apart what I’m interested in about those artists. It’s not a bombastic sound, it’s not vocal flexing, it’s something else. What is that quality? And where’s the fine line where it goes over the edge into becoming horrible, versus feeling really gorgeous and comforting and soulful?

–via The Guardian

This is one of the first songs written for the album, and it was added to my live shows while it was still a work in progress. The final production includes lots of little things that evolved over the course of touring it, like the big scream at the end, while the bridge of this song shares the melody with “Pretty in Possible.” I love how massive and tectonic the bass is in this one, how small my voice feels at the end.

—via Spotify Storyline