Thom Yorke

The Eraser

Related Content

• The Black Keys Video for New Single, "Lonely Boy," Plus Four Other Videos With Awkward Dance Moves
  October 26, 2011
• Radiohead is Totally Playing Glendale
  November 7, 2011
• Five Holiday Gifts For Your Hipster Sibling
  December 15, 2011
• Foreign Affairs
  November 3, 2011
• Top 10 Music Videos of 2011
  December 22, 2011

More About

• Thom Yorke
• Radiohead
• Harrowdown Hill
• Celebrity News

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Music Newsletter: Keep your thumb on the local music scene with music features, additional online music listings and show picks. We'll also send special ticket offers and music promotions available only to our Music Newsletter subscribers.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

Thom Yorke's first individual outing is about what you'd expect — a glitchy, primarily electronic excursion that mirrors Radiohead's most recent work. The Eraser's dour compositions conjure the icy, detached vibe of Kid A and Amnesiac, and were it not for Yorke's beguiling melodies and consistently compelling fey falsetto, it would be easy to peg The Eraser as a regurgitation of the band's back catalogue. But a closer listen reveals sparser renderings that offer a glimpse at Yorke's sketch pad, and what the front man's songs must sound like before they become Radio-ready. Amid a backdrop of assorted arcade noises and claustrophobic frequencies, Yorke delivers dependably pithy, neurotic musings on such standout tracks as "Skip Divided," in which he croons in a noticeably deeper timbre, and "Black Swan" and "Harrowdown Hill," whose slinky bass lines and jazzy backbeats provide a welcome contrast to the album's overall mechanical tone. The Eraser is no masterpiece, but it's worth seeking out.