Is there even a middle ground? Black is black and white is white. Even The Eraser’s album art bears this out. Black and white do not mix; there is no gray. And, let’s face it. This Thom Yorke album will probably end up being scrutinized as keenly as any Radiohead release. As such, anything less than high praise may be interpreted as a lukewarm response, and when was the last time anybody thought “Radiohead” and “lukewarm” in the same sentence? Pablo Honey was over a decade ago.
The point is, it’s hard to write a review for The Eraser. I suspect most people who are interested in Radiohead and good music in general already know to purchase or download the album, from a record store or an online retailer. But you know what they say… Every album is somebody’s first.
Without a point of reference, The Eraser is unusual, sounding unlike most of popular music today. There really isn’t any wasted time on this album. At nine tracks, it’s still about 40 minutes long. Produced by longtime Radiohead uber-producer Nigel Godrich, the overall sound is impeccable and focused, as one would expect. The songs are heavily influenced by modern technology- electronic beeps, loops, samples, and beats abound. Interestingly, Thom Yorke’s voice is pretty much unfiltered throughout the album. There aren’t any songs in which he sang the lyrics backwards and then played the recording backwards. There also aren’t too many guitars. But this shouldn’t bother Radiohead fans.
Many of the songs on The Eraser sound like ideas from the Kid A and Amnesiac period taken to the logical extremes- perhaps because that is what some of them actually are. The title track sounds like it’s been influenced by the soundtracks of old 8-bit NES videogames. “The Eraser” the song contains piano parts played by Jonny Greenwood, the only other member of Radiohead to record a solo album thus far. (Greenwood did the soundtrack for the film Bodysong a few years back.) The synthetic notes that end the song prove to be hypnotically catchy, and Yorke’s voice sounds as good as it ever did, somehow managing to convey a sense of powerlessness and an undercurrent of hope.
“Black Swan,” one of the album highlights, calls to mind “I Might Be Wrong” from Amnesiac as well as the much-vaunted B-Side “Talk Show Host.” The song is possibly about political leaders who fail at their jobs, though the lyrics (“I don\'t care what the future holds / Cause I\'m right here and I\'m today”) could also have a more general meaning. It’s always been one of Yorke’s skills as a lyricist- he’s able to write about specific subjects that are important to him, and through the tautly focused lens of his words, others are able to grasp a more universal meaning and thereby relate to the enigmatic frontman.
Much has been made of “Atoms For Peace” and “Harrowdown Hill,” two of the earliest leaked tracks, and their political titles. I won’t get into that here, but “Atoms For Peace” does contain one of the juiciest couplets of the album: “Peel all of your layers off / I want to eat your artichoke heart.” Yum. Yorke’s voice swirls to all sorts of ridiculous falsetto-induced heights on this song, and the music somewhat reminds me of Kid A’s “Treefingers.” The melodic bass also makes me think of Peter Hook’s work in New Order, for some reason. “Harrowdown Hill” proves to be one of the most hard-hitting tracks on the album (relatively speaking, of course). With an aggressive beat and some angular guitar sounds complementing the electronic vibes, it’s instantly memorable.
The trip-hoppish “Analyse” is vintage Thom: full of despair, regret, and self-loathing, it’s more compelling than every Xanga ever posted in the history of the Internet. It’s hard to imagine that anyone could make such a depressing song sound so beautiful. Then you remember that this is only one-fifth of Radiohead. And that’s when it hits you. Radiohead’s slated to release a new album next year. This is really just a prelude, something to chew on while we await the next masterpiece.
"The Eraser" is on sale July 11, 0006 from XL Recordings.
