I’ve been listening to Thom Yorke’s solo effort The Eraser over the past week. It’s a difficult album to get into if you aren’t very familiar with Radiohead’s particular brand of mind-altering audio. For the hardcore fans though (and there are more of us everyday), The Eraser is a real treat. Those who thought Hail to the Thief’s dash of electronic experimentation was hit-and-miss will be happy to know that the synths are back in force with this new effort, and Yorke is still very much at the top of his game.
As in Hail, The Eraser continues Yorke’s penchant for politically-charged lyrics. One track, "Harrowdown Hill," was recently mentioned in this BBC article (and pointed out to me by my girlfriend), as it talks about the death of one David Kelly, a scientist who allegedly had insider information on whether there actually were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The lyrics are ambiguous montage-poetry, as usual: "Did I fall or was I pushed? / And wheres the blood? / I’m coming home / I’m coming home / To make it all right / So dry your eyes"
Beautiful stuff, and more than enough to tide us over until Radiohead’s 2007 album (or whenever the hell these guys will get around to recording again). If you liked Kid A, this is pretty much the album you’ve been waiting for I think.