Thom Yorke's The Eraser

I remember, around the year 2000, three years after Radiohead's seminal release Ok Computer, I found myself remarking to a friend of mine about how awesome it would be if Thom Yorke were to release a solo album. We agreed and figured it would be an inevitable development in Yorke's career. We just didn't think we'd have to wait another 6 years for it.

The summer of 2006 seems to be a busy season for Yorke. He's just kicked off a North American tour with Radiohead playing new material to sold out crowds and his solo album, The Eraser is set for release and has already leaked to the internet and hundreds of fans are now sampling it, digesting it and like me, trying to figure out if we like it or not.

It's not that the album is unlikeable. I doubt Yorke or any of the Radiohead band members could create something (unless we're talking about the majority of Pablo Honey, for which I have forgiven them) that I could completely hate. Also, when listening to this album, as with any solo venture, you have to take a step back and realize that this isn't supposed to be a sort of mini-preview or even reflection of the band that the artist comes from. With that in mind, I tried to sit back and enjoy this album. I tried really hard.

And I did enjoy moments on it, but for the majority of the album's length I felt myself reflecting on Yorke's career with Radiohead. The Eraser is supposed to be a solo effort, but I would not have been surprised had I heard that the leaked tracks were instead leaked b-sides from 2003's Hail to the Thief.This is not a bad thing, but it does leave me somewhat disappointed. The album feels about three years too late.

Here's the thing, for being in a band that is known for continually pushing the envelope, Yorke really seems to be stuck in an electronic hell of a rut. There's nothing inherantly wrong with electronic music, except that the majority of it all sounds very much alike. At it's heart, The Eraser is an intelligent electronic pop album. Songs like Black Swan, Skip Divided, Atoms for Peace, And it Rained All Night are all very listenable and catchy. They all exhibit interesting changes in time signatures and showcase Yorke's penchant for lyrical nonsense that better fits the mood of the song than a literal story might. Atoms for Peace in particular gives me goosebumps as Yorke's voice floats over layers of beats singing "I want you to get out and make it work." And the song does work because it takes the same sort of appealing and quiet sound that groups like the bland Postal Service try to utilize but without making you wish you could stab yourself in the eye with a fork after repeated listenings. Still, just because Yorke can make intelligent pop music doesn't mean that it should be heralded as one of the best musical endeavors ever, because eventually The Eraser bleeds into the same old blips and boops and beeps and you find yourself thinking, "Hey, haven't I heard this one before?"


The Eraser should be bought and it should be listened to but don't expect it to change your life. It's just a pop album, but a pop album that you can feel better about listening to, than say....Ashlee Simpson's newest crap.