The Eraser - Thom Yorke

Somewhere in the distant shire of Oxford, Thom Yorke sits with a laptop under his nose and a broad smile on his face. Very few would take pleasure from an album as politically draining as The Eraser, but if anybody is to smile about it, you can count on it being the Radiohead star himself. Here is a man who should never have been a rock star. An agitated grumbler with the audacity to tell his own fans to "calm down and shut the f- up" should a gig threaten to spiral out of control. When Yorke decided to venture out of his usual five-piece rock band domain, there was very little in the way of a mainstream reaction. Probably because he refused to go public about ...  Read the complete review

The Eraser sees Thom Yorke develop the sound he started to create in Hail to the Thief's glitchy patches, mixed with Kid A's minimalism. Most of the album recorded on a laptop, you still manage to be treated to a beautiful sound scape by one of the forerunners of music. The Eraser's title track is a beautiful piano piece with lots of laptop effects which give the C.D an atmosphere from the get go, it sounds claustrophobic but welcomingly so. The last minute of synthesized piano is absolutely brilliant and is a fine moment on the album.The sound oozes out of your speakers and almost dances around your ears. Analyse reminds me of a song that should have been ...  Read the complete review

Thom Yorke's solo offering is disappointing to say the least. It was promised before the release, that whilst the album would be electronic, it would contain real songs. Well, there are a few decently constructed songs on here, but a 9 track long album really can't afford to have too many stinkers. 'Atoms for Peace' is probably the worse offender. It's repetitive riff and poorly constructed vocal melody just marks this as no better than a below average Radiohead B Side. 'The Clock' is another weak track, and you wonder why Thom Yorke didn't just roll with the excellent acoustic version he played on the few promotional TV appearances he did. 'And It Rained All Night' is ...  Read the complete review

Track Listing: The Eraser, Analyse, The Clock, Black Swan, Skip Divided, Atoms For Peace, And It Rained All Night, Harrowdown Hill, Cymbal Rush. Many people, myself included, were waiting with bated breath for the release of The Eraser. Having been a Radiohead fan for as long as i can remember being into music, i have enjoyed watching Radiohead change and grow from depressing and sad, to expressive and mad - with Thom Yorke's darker and more personal influences moulding a new type of sound for the band. Kid A saw the cross-roads emerge for Radiohead, and won them as many fans as they lost with the change in direction. It's those experimental melodies ...  Read the complete review