Thom Yorke
The Eraser LP vinyl

Given the leaking nature of modern society, it's a genuine wonder that news of Thom Yorke's solo LP was kept under wraps for so long - with its four year gestation shrouded from the limelight by little more than some lexically spannered blog entries and a vocal opposition to Live 8... Ever since the electronica-indie of 'Kid A' gave Mojo readers something to think about, Thom Yorke has been straining at the bit to indulge his digital side - with 'The Eraser' the first fruits of this labour. By no means as avant-bollocks as swathes of the mainstream press would have you believe, 'The Eraser' is actually a beautifully lilting collection of studio-finessed tracks that could readily have appeared on the aforementioned 'Kid A'. Just as that album buffeted Yorke's cracked vocals against a rainfall of creamy electronics, so the opening (and title) track from 'The Eraser' plumbs similar territory - taking a beacon-pulse of synth then glazing it through a spindly cowl of beats that hoist Yorke's initially muted vocals to dizzying emotional heights. Unreasonably good, it's a proper bobby dazzler that sees Yorke's confused question "are you just being nice because you want something?" rendered into the kind of emotionally charged missive that reminds you just how great Radiohead are when firing on all cylinders. Doggedly insisting that this doesn't represent a solo album, Yorke has been quick to point to the contribution of long time producer Nigel Godrich as well as the fact that many of the sonic elements included are processed samples taken from full-fat Radiohead sessions - something that is fairly obvious on second track 'Analyse'. Blessed with the kind of dipping melody that lodges itself deep within the cranial tectonics, 'Analyse' stirs a fragile piano into a fog of jack-knife beats, cold-water synths and Yorke's undulating vocals to create a song which wouldn't have looked out of place on either 'Hail To The Thief' or 'Kid A'. From here 'The Eraser' continues to deliver, with an obvious highlight coming in the form of 'Black Swan' - sounding like 'National Anthem' put through a digital rainbow, Yorke whispers "cause this is fucked up, fucked up" atop a revolving set of guitar 'n' tronics to dizzying effect. Elsewhere, 'The Clock' is a banjo-speckled showstopper, 'Harrowdown Hill' delivers its political indictment through crystalline beats, whilst 'And It Rained All Night' is feedback catharsis for the almost drowned larynx of Yorke. Delete as applicable...

NEW / Anul aparitiei: 2006

Tracklist:

A1 The Eraser

A2 Analyse

A3 The Clock

A4 Black Swan

A5 Skip Divided

B1 Atoms For Peace

B2 And It Rained All Night

B3 Harrowdown Hill

B4 Cymbal Rush