Music Review: The Eraser

Thanks to some good connections, I was able to listen to an advance copy of "The Eraser," the new solo album by Thom Yorke (he of Radiohead).

Any comparison of this album to Yorke's work with Radiohead is unavoidable, so it's where I begin. For those turned off either by A) Yorke's voice and sometimes mildly aloof lyrics or B) the Radiohead corpus since Kid A, they may not like this, but they shouldn't discard it as an album so quickly. This isn't the workings of some rock star growing too big for his britches, and deciding he's the main innovator in his band and he'll show all them with a crappy solo album (far too many artists to name have taken this approach in the past - ever hear the last Creedence album, when Fogerty let the bassist and his brother write their own songs? Or the Velvet Underground album AFTER Lou Reed left, and it was just Doug Yule?) Rather, this is Yorke using some of his spare time to make what is ultimately some rather interesting and enjoyable music.

I'm a fan of "electronica"-type music (I hate the term, but for brevity's sake, there it is), and unfortunately, it's gotten a little drab lately. However, Yorke's album is a nice new sound added, combining those beats and sounds with his distinctive voice. In that regard, it's very much in the electro-beat-driven mode of the first side of Kid A and random tracks from Amnesia and Hail to the Thief, yet it's a different work. This album is Yorke, left to his own machinations with longtime friend and producer Nigel Godrich, creating their own music, sounds, etc. Admittedly, at a first listen, the album did not do much for me, and sounded too similar throughout. However, a good headphone listen reveals the complexity, subtle variety, and beauty of the music. The album from start to finish is based almost completely on electronic beats, ambient music (think an institutionalized man's Brian Eno), and Yorke's voice (sometimes also used as the ambient sound in the background, similar to Bjork's work on "Vespertine" and especially "Medulla"). The sonic textures and layers between beats, voice, music, and sound effects gains a richness that one appreciates only after a couple of listens. Put simply, this isn't music that immediately jumps out and grabs you, but rather reveals its nuances over time (like much of the best music is).

The first two tracks are perhaps (to me) the less interesting of the album, though the paranoia-like lyrics of the opening title-track are mildly disturbing in a delightful way. However, once you hit track three, "The Clock," the beauty of the textures Yorke and Godrich have created, and the way his voice floats over the backing beats and sounds, really gains richness and variety. Even though the same instruments/sounds/ambient approaches are used throughout the album, it's never the same sound. "And It Rained All Night" has a strong sense of panicked urgency, while Black Swan is lilting and relaxed until you listen to Yorke suggesting that everything's fucked. Even the closer, "Cymbal Rush," packs both a paranoia (the main element one can feel throughout the album, though it's not always bleak) and a hope that make for a strong finish.

To sum, Yorke's album isn't for everybody, but, much in the way that "Kid A" took several listens before it really opened up, so does "The Eraser," and the reward is worth it. And fear not...it's clear, Yorke's ego hasn't outgrown his band. We'll just have to look to some other band for that non-Fogerty Creedence-like meltdown.