Thom Yorke
The Eraser
The Solo Album is a peculiar pop institution.
Normally comes from band members who are attention – starved in terms of media spotlight and who don't get enough creative input.
This is not the case here.
Essentially, it's an extension of the Radiohead house of sound: Less majestic, even with a rough-edged demo like feel. Only Yorke and Nigel Godrich are involved in this project.
Solo Albums emerged as a phenomenon in the dying days of the 1960, mirroring the fractured feel of the times: Bands splitting up or losing focus in a welter of side projects. The Eraser's downbeat mood flashes back to that same era of self-absorbed singer-songwriters and troubled troubs.
Sonically it collides a certain style of post-psychedelic soft-rock. The ghosts of Roy Harper, Shawn Philips, Tim Buckley or even Nick Drake and Richard Thompson mixed with blippy blurts of Aphex Twin, surrounds all the whole album’s vibe and atmosphere.
Also, there are moments where we can almost feel the presence of Joy Division's "Decades" the closing track on "Closer", the one about the young men with the weight of the world on their shoulder, others when you feel textures of Pink Floyd's early works or even others when we can easily imagine songs - like the title-track opener – a song that could be easily made by The Cure if they were remixed by Royksoop…
But, Harper is the closest analogy because, for much of The Eraser, Yorke plays part of Jeremiah, scowlingly surveying a world ######ed up beyond all repair.
What makes "The Eraser" great is Yorke's singing. For the well-executed electronics and tasty guitar work, his voice is by far the most arresting instrument on the record. It proves yet again that he's the Miles Davis of mope rock, the maestro of an infinite exquisitely subtle-shades of blue. And of course there are Yorke’s monochrome/monotone lyrics.
In resume "The Eraser" is a musical document of quite sad desperation and uncomfortable numbness. Not an admiral works even though an album that's easy to love.
The Eraser
The Solo Album is a peculiar pop institution.
Normally comes from band members who are attention – starved in terms of media spotlight and who don't get enough creative input.
This is not the case here.
Essentially, it's an extension of the Radiohead house of sound: Less majestic, even with a rough-edged demo like feel. Only Yorke and Nigel Godrich are involved in this project.
Solo Albums emerged as a phenomenon in the dying days of the 1960, mirroring the fractured feel of the times: Bands splitting up or losing focus in a welter of side projects. The Eraser's downbeat mood flashes back to that same era of self-absorbed singer-songwriters and troubled troubs.
Sonically it collides a certain style of post-psychedelic soft-rock. The ghosts of Roy Harper, Shawn Philips, Tim Buckley or even Nick Drake and Richard Thompson mixed with blippy blurts of Aphex Twin, surrounds all the whole album’s vibe and atmosphere.
Also, there are moments where we can almost feel the presence of Joy Division's "Decades" the closing track on "Closer", the one about the young men with the weight of the world on their shoulder, others when you feel textures of Pink Floyd's early works or even others when we can easily imagine songs - like the title-track opener – a song that could be easily made by The Cure if they were remixed by Royksoop…
But, Harper is the closest analogy because, for much of The Eraser, Yorke plays part of Jeremiah, scowlingly surveying a world ######ed up beyond all repair.
What makes "The Eraser" great is Yorke's singing. For the well-executed electronics and tasty guitar work, his voice is by far the most arresting instrument on the record. It proves yet again that he's the Miles Davis of mope rock, the maestro of an infinite exquisitely subtle-shades of blue. And of course there are Yorke’s monochrome/monotone lyrics.
In resume "The Eraser" is a musical document of quite sad desperation and uncomfortable numbness. Not an admiral works even though an album that's easy to love.