Thom Yorke, The Eraser

Strengths:

- brilliant lyrics

- haunting vocals

- long life (it takes time to get into it)

- it's moody atmosphere

- sound

Weaknesses:

- not for everyone

- needs time to start to like it but repays

Not one bad song, not one bad sound. No doubt the most haunting, magical album ever recorded. From first note of the title track it doesn't stop to mesmerize for a single moment. Thom Yorke's solo album The Eraser is a perfect example that you don't need hyper-produced bombastic tune to cast a spell that can hypnotize a listener for more than a blink of an eye... for me it's over a 2 years now that I'm kept under it's charm.

It's not for everyone though: impatience is not very well rewarded with The Eraser: it's eclectic sound needs plenty of time to find its way into the ear of the hearer and now when no-one listens to one album for more then 2 times...

Some say it's only for Radiohead's fans... I don't agree at all - it's for everybody. Everybody that wants to find something original and prefers unpretentious genius rather than overproduced mediocrity...

I bought The Eraser around the time when it was released in June 2006. I'd already heard most of the tracks from the internet and other sources, so I pretty much knew what to expect.

The first listen was, to try and summarise, different from most other albums I've heard. I find that with most music, the tracks grow on you and you usually don't like them all at first. However, I didn't find this with The Eraser. Instead, I found myself relating to the music and every track sounded good the first time around.

I still listen to The Eraser quite a lot, and I plan to make an alternative video to either Harrowdown Hill or Cybal Rush, filming Didcot power station amongst other things. This album just seems to get better the more I listen to it - probably more so for me though, as it brings back some classic memories from last summer.

Overall, The Eraser has to be one of the best, if not the best album that I curently own. It has strength, style, and above all else, its powerful music. Not for those of you who don't know what good music is, then.

I hope this has been useful - I definitely recommend this album to anyone.

I sort of knew what to expect before I heard the Eraser album. Thom Yorke seems to be obsessed with attracting listeners to his music by the strength of the material alone. In other words, he has made no effort to seek the advantage of sensationalist production or camouflaging textures. This is of course to be admired, especially as there is much to admire here. Firstly, all of his drum beats whilst being intricate, are composed of percussive computer noises, softly tapped hi-hats and various rims; contributing to an already very thin texture throughout.

Therefore, you won't be surprised to find that The Eraser (opening with the title track) starts of with two chords played on a piano with absolutely no reverberation (sounds like the piano is full of cotton wool) using parallel fifths that until after a few listens, are quite hostile to the ear. However, Thom Yorke manages to retain interest throughout most of these tracks, and as suspected, you are promised to derive much pleasure after, and only after, you have given the music the desired number of listens (3 or 4 in my case).

The excellent tracks are:

'Analyse' - With its hypnotic beats, percussive piano and angular melody.

'Black Swan' - Probably the most 'normal' song on the album in straightforward strophic form, complete with guitar, backing vocals and background string arrangement.

'And it Rained all Night' - My favourite. This song is extremely atmospheric, reminding me of Kid A. There is also a lot of welcome reverb in the production, giving off a gorgeous vibe that one can't help but savour.

'Harrowdown Hill' - Released as a single, and arguably the most melodic of songs on this album. It is also quite emotional, with a storyline about the 'suicide' of an MOD employee. On repeated listens, it is heavily touching, especially at the words, "I'm coming home, to make it alright so dry your eyes." There is also a sublime piano interlude before the song concludes as the narrator slips out of consciousness. Heavy stuff.

The remaining tracks are good, and definitely should not be categorised as filler, especially the title track. The only one that doesn't quite work for me is 'Skip Divided', whereby Thom is almost rapping at the very nadir of his register.

In all, an excellent solo effort. Can't wait to hear from him again with his boys in tow. Roll on Radiohead!