Thom Yorke — The Eraser

I guess I never really got into Kid A or Amnesiac. The electronic elements always seemed a bit half hearted to me, a brief flirtation filtered through a band with different ideas and preferences. Because after all Radiohead are a group of highly accomplished musicians each with their own ideas on the bands sound. The electronic elements were to me always being pushed by Thom Yorke. So I guess that it’s no surprise to me that The Eraser is a brilliant album that crystallises Yorkes love for electronic textures with his trademark lyrical style. 

The title track kick off the album with cut and splice piano tones and grainy electronic beats. Yorkes voice enters quickly and sits very well within the digitalis. It gives the impression of a man at home at the controls of his music without the constraints of a full band to deal with. The song has a lovely atmospheric chorus that recalls the heady days of OK computer.
Speaking of which so does Analyse another track that builds it’s electronic heart upon Yorkes pretty piano playing. Despite the very warp records influenced style to his electronics Yorke injects a wonderful amount of emotion into these songs. Synth swells and great use of overdubbed voices makes this a very wide angled track.

Black swan is a track that has been lorded by critics before the albums release as some sort of classic in the Radiohead mould. It certainly does have the feel of much of the recent material of Yorkes band with more organic percussion and guitar but that to me rather detracts from the rest of the material on the album which has it’s own unique signature.  Atoms for peace is a track that probably turn off any Radiohead fan that hated their forays into electronica but Aphex twin fans will love the very D James like bass beat that forms the backbone to this minimal track that focuses mainly on Yorkes flowing lyrics. "I want to eat your artichoke out" classic line.

Harrowdown Hill is my favourite track on the album. It’s about the death of the civil servant David Kelly who was found dead in 2003 after blowing the whistle on the UK governments fabricated intelligence on Iraq’s weapons capability. The official verdict was suicide but many people, myself included believe he was disposed of before being able to further incriminate the government. No one was ever charge with any offence in relation to his death but the BBC who first published his testimony was severely reprimanded for their part in the affair. With the director general and much of the board of governors being forced to resign.  At the very least, the pressure the government put on him and the media intrusion into his life drove this quiet man of integrity to take his own life. Yorkes line "We think the same things at the same, we just can’t do any thing about it" sums up his and my feelings on the issue.

The Eraser is certainly a more overtly political album than anything in Radioheads discography. Yorkes world view crystallised with his own music in undiluted form. A mention also for the artwork which is a ten panel wallet which has a fantastic ink drawing of London being swallowed by a dark flood directed by a shadowy figure. You can make out many of London’s landmarks sinking under black waves. Severely recommended.