THOM YORKE
The Eraser
XL
· Man versus Machine.
Recorded in secrecy with long-time Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and released on one of the U.K.’s more interesting indie labels (Yorke is now working alongside the likes of M.I.A. and Devendra Banhart), The Eraser is a record sure to elicit knee-jerk reactions of the love-it-or-hate-it variety. Yorke’s taken pains to classify The Eraser as somehow not a solo record. This is perhaps to quell fears of a Radiohead breakup (despite the band’s current tour of theatre venues across America), or perhaps an attempt to toss a wrench into the debate as to who the real genius behind Radiohead truly is – Yorke alone or the synthesis of all five members of his group.
The main difference between The Eraser and Yorke’s day job is how personal it all seems. Radiohead tunes are often punctuated with the use of "I," but within the context of the songs, the resonance is usually much broader – music for stadiums that truly speaks for everyone.
The Eraser, however, resonates on an altogether different level. "We think the same things at the same time," Yorke howls on "Harrowdown Hill." "I’m fucked up," he murmurs on "Black Swan." "‘The Eraser" claims, "The more you try to erase me / the more I appear," and you don’t doubt Yorke’s finally speaking strictly for himself. This is a long-awaited glimpse into one of the most analyzed musical figures of the past two decades.
It would be hard to imagine these songs with much more at play – skeletal and perfectly balanced, there’s nowhere much else to go with them. Amid the blips and skittering drums, the occasional guitar line sticks out as a foreign element. The hooks and melodies take their time to fall into place (and at times, even further to stick to one’s brain), but The Eraser adds up to an all-new and intriguing angle on the Radiohead phenomenon. Never mind that actually releasing this thing as a Radiohead album proper most likely would’ve stopped the band pretty much dead in its tracks – performing a stadium-sized singalong to something as subtly layered as "Atoms for Peace" is pretty much impossible. Kudos then, for once again pulling off the unexpected.
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