Wednesday, August 16th, 2006
Well, with all of the hoopla that Thom Yorke’s new album, The Eraser, has garnered, I thought I’d give it a listen. Normally I would buy an album before I buy it, but circumstances have gotten in the way, so I’m working off a copy generously given to me by my friend Alhambra. Three cheers for Alhambra! Have no fears, you slimy record types, I’ll buy a copy as soon as I can.

Well, from what I heard, this was supposed to be a Kid B of sorts. I thought that was a gross over generalization . . . and really, if compared to a Radiohead album, I’d say it’s closer to Amnesiac, although I think it’s better. But really, I don’t like to compare albums too much. The Eraser really has its own feel anyway.

Take for instance, the sixth track “Atoms for Peace”. Ok, so the title is typically tongue and cheek from Mr. Yorke. Check. The song has huge, epic sound that resembles Radiohead. Hmmmm . . . that’s a negative. Therein lies the beauty of this song, and really most of the album. This is music that can fly under the radar. It is music for most any occasion. This is music that can be the focus of a party or serve as the undercurrents of it. The ebbs and flow of this music, how it creeps up on you unsuspectingly and lays you in a cradle of sound is wonderfully reassuring. This song is certainly interestingly compared to Dntel’s effort . . . at least the more melodic songs on that album.

Yet, there is some switchage of gears on Black Swan. The song begins with a electronic drum sound that could be the beginnings of a hip hop song. Then, the guitar and bass riff lay in two measures later and then you think, R&B. And then finally, Thom Yorke’s voice a few measures after that and then it becomes his song. That is the power of Thom Yorke (and Radiohead) . . . Thom Yorke really is one of those artists who can put his stamp on music, the feeling when you listen to a song and instantly know it’s something he’s done.

Still with more musical variance, one can reference And It Rained All Night, which begins with a dark, dirty electronic beat. And I’m talking electronic like should have been in the Matrix. Speaking of, why wasn’t Radiohead used in the Matrix? Did anybody else feel like The National Anthem (off Kid A) would have been perfect for any of those movies? But I digress. And It Rained All Night. This song moves through electronic clicks and drum sticks beating against each other. That does sound a mite putting off, but Thom Yorke makes it work.

And really, I’d be a tad remiss if I didn’t mention the title track, which may be the album’s best song. It begins with a piano moving driving the song. The beat underneath the song sounds like it was taken straight from Amnesiac, but let’s ignore that. Let’s concentrate on the piano, the component of the song that certainly sold me. It only plays three chords throughout the song, but its haunting and persistent drive always leads me through the song, wondering if there will be more . . . and there never it is. But I don’t care! The rest of the song, Thom Yorke’s quirky voice is there to make me forget that I want to hear the piano lead to some kind of climax. It’s that kind of suspense which makes this album so good.

So all in all, what a nice little nugget from Thom Yorke to satiate the insatiable Radiohead fans. This probably isn’t what a lot of them want to hear, but this is what Thom Yorke wants to do. And frankly, as Kid A was the album that turned me onto Radiohead, I’ve no problems with this. When the new Radiohead album comes out (slated for the February through April window of 2007 from what I understand), I’m sure there will be more guitar and bass . . . you know, what the other members of Radiohead contribute. Thom Yorke has made a lovely album here which is totally his. Cheers to him.

-patrick

Thom Yorke – The Eraser