Thom Yorke: “The Eraser” (XL Recordings)
review by Jason Isbell
Any mention of frontman Thom Yorke inevitably leads to thoughts of Radiohead, and while “The Eraser” certainly gives insight to his influence and contributions to the envelope-pushing band, it just wasn’t as fulfilling as a Radiohead release. Hopefully, we can all agree that music is at times viewed as art by some bands and not simply as commerce or star-struck egotism; and hopefully we can all agree that Mr. Yorke is one such musician/artist. But if art is supposed to be a reflection of the continuum of the human emotional scale, Yorke addresses about six percent of it. That is to say, the mood of this album never changes. Yes, I like ethereal electronic music coupled with a floating androgynous voice. No, I do not like nine straight songs of it back to back. Some songs are definitely stronger than others, and there are times that Yorke goes places vocally that are inspiring and unheard until now. “Atoms for Peace” and “And it Rained All Night” are two such examples. But if it can be agreed that Radiohead is a three-dimensional band, then Yorke’s work on “The Eraser” is simply one dimension of that. Maybe an ongoing comparison between the two is unfair, but in any event I found “The Eraser” to be pleasing yet a little boring. [http://www.xlrecordings.com] [http://www.theeraser.net] JI
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Reviewer is a quarterly again. I’ve done it as a quarterly, a bi-monthly and a monthly now, and I’d rather have a paper I own than a paper that owns me. Because I rule.
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