The Sigla Blog

Technically speaking The Eraser is a solo album, but Thom Yorke vigorously refuses to utter the word ’solo’ to describe this nine track collection. In a post on their website earlier this year, the Radiohead singer casually mentioned that he’d been working on some of his own material, insisting, “I don’t wanna hear that word solo. Doesn’t sound right” and in a recent interview in the Observer Music Magazine, he admitted that in 2004, Radiohead was “getting boring”, a situation which may have prompted this solitary work. Kid A and follow-up Amnesiac saw Radiohead move steadily along an electronic trajectory, only to usher guitars back in - alongside the computer compositions - on Hail to the Thief.

Yorke is clearly keen to re-explore the pre-Thief era, taking the electronic template further. The opening title track fuses simple, shuffled beats and blocky keys, suggesting a less-is-more approach, but even when things are embroidered slightly, as on ‘Analyse’, sparseness is the ultimate aim. The ‘Analyse’ hybrid of classical piano, Boards of Canada synths and glitchy beats is one of the albums most accessible, in what is an oddly dispassionate piece of work. Tracks like ‘The Clock’ with its insistent pulse sound clinical, while ‘Skip Divided’ is darkly frustrating and both dabble in self-indulgence. A slow-starter, The Eraser has patches of perfection, thanks to Yorke’s distinctive timbre and unsettling lyrics. ‘Atoms For Peace’ is a bare-boned beats/synth/vocal elegy, conjuring up all the physical and emotional scenarios that Yorke can capture with just his voice. ‘Black Swan’ sounds like a Radiohead set-piece, never letting melody out of its sight. On a piece of work that boasts some of the album’s most sterile electronics, ‘Black Swan’s unexpected guitar and bass backline add a touch of warmth.

Radiohead wear their Green credentials on their sleeve and Yorke does not attempt to bleach politics from Eraser. ‘Harrowdown Hill’, is about Dr. David Kelly, the UK government scientist/weapons inspector who killed himself over WMD/Iraq dossier. The initial, vaguely Latin beats, give the illusion that this might be a detour into the land of upbeat. Yorke intones about “asking the Ministry” and more obtusely, “We think the same things at the same thing but we just can’t anything about it”, but lyrical obviousness is not a Yorke hallmark. ‘Harrowdown Hill’ and the orchestral ‘And it Rained All Night’ precede closing track ‘Cymbal Rush’, a plaintive soundtrack that builds to an eerie finish.

The Eraser is not an easy listen, but when it’s cold, warmth is not far away. When it’s bare, melody salvages things. Yorke’s pivotal vocals and lyrics provide an emotional foreground against a stark musical backdrop on what is a restless, uneven work.