The Eraser – Thom Yorke

The Eraser
Thom Yorke
:4 Stars:
2006

As a band Radiohead is one of those groups which, while my father had bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, innovated and never did the same thing twice. Radiohead has never served the same meal under a different name. Each and every album Radiohead has put out since Pablo Honey has asked the listeners to trust their vision and to accept that you have never heard anything like this before and it sounds nothing like the last album.

The Eraser, however, is a bit of a step back towards the computer-y blips of Kid A. While it may not be a complete departure from the past, this also isn’t completely Radiohead.

The album is dark, as you would expect from Thom, but also seems more personal. It sounds like one guy singing into a computer, which is trying desperately to comfort him. There aren’t too many surprises here for Radiohead fans, the album is lovely to listen to, but isn’t something you will find yourself humming on the supermarket line.

Oddly the I feel this album would do much better if it would have been release a little later in the year, closer to the fall. It’s not a great pool party, anthem driven, fist pump-fest, but then again that’s not really Thom Yorkes M.O. And you probably have Gnarls Barkley for that slot this year.

Long and the Short, pick it up. You’ll be glad you did later on.