Thought I'd start a new discussion outside of Karlos's "Lost in the tune" thread, which seems to have degenerated to a slagging match between Mel and X-Ray :lol:
I was hesitant to buy Thom Yorke's solo album "The Eraser" after reading some very negative reviews. Also, the clips on the iTunes store put me off a little. But as a big fan of post-"The Bends" Radiohead, and knowing full well that it can take time to get to like a new Radiohead album, I went for "The Eraser".
I think it is much less accessible than even the most abstract work that Thom did with Radiohead. It took me a few listens to get it, but now I love it as much as Kid A
or Amnesiac (my two favourite Radiohead albums).
As with Radiohead, it's hard to analyse "The Eraser" very deeply unless you've listened to it a lot. The lyrical content is very abstract which has led some to believe that it's not actually about anything at all. But I can't believe that Thom Yorke would write a solo album without a message. The music is fairly consistent with later Radiohead: Satie-esque piano accompaniments; skipping, broken drum loops; beautiful synthesizers; distorted guitar clips; and of course Thom's distinctively harrowing voice.
It took a few days for me to get used to The Eraser, but it has now become a regular on my playlist just like most of Radiohead's catalogue.
I'd be interested to hear opinions from anyone else who has heard it.
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moto