Okay, let's get this thing out in the open and going. I'm sure that just like me, many of you have already heard Thom Yorke's The Eraser, so let's discuss it. I like the record alot actually. Being a longtime Radiohead fan I was super excited about hearing it of course. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I think it's the best album of 2006 or anything, but it is definitely quality. I don't like it as much as any of the Radiohead albums except for Pablo Honey, which I entirely dislike. Most of it sounds quite a bit like Radiohead b-sides from Amnesiac, specifically "Fog" and "Worrywort." You can really tell what the other members of Radiohead contribute by what's missing here. Overall a good record. I can see how some people will not like it at all, especially those Radiohead fans that want more stuff like The Bends or OK Computer.
I like it. There are a couple songs I don't care for (Skip Divided, Black Swan), but the rest are getting better as I listen more. I didn't really expect too much since I didn't know about it long before I heard it. I knew ahead of time it was all electronic, so the fact that there is no guitar rock here doesn't bother me. If the same were true of the next Radiohead album, I might be a little disappointed. My early favorites are "Analyse" and "Harrowdown Hill." Overall, it is a very nice piece of work that suits Thom well. A solid solo debut.
Btw, I prefer both "Fog" and "Worrywort" to any of the tracks that found their way on Amnesiac.
I really like it. I can't really say that any individual song blows me away, but there are no songs I don't like either. It's just solidly good start to finish. It may grow on me, but initially, it's not quite as good as I thought it would be. Still, it's probably the second or third best thing I've heard this year.
As you might expect, it's much more stripped down that Radiohead stuff. I would say one of the main differences between this stuff and Amnesiac is that some of this stuff is less abstract and more accessible.
Posts: 3931 | Location: NE Indiana | Registered: 14 April 2005
So far "Skip Divided" is probably my least favorite track. I really like "Atoms For Peace", "The Clock", and "Cymbal Rush." By the way, both "Fog" and "Worrywort" are two of my all time favorite Radiohead tracks SDF.
Originally posted by mark f: I won't hear this sucka until it hits the streets, but "Pyramid Song" and "You and Whose Army?" are two of my fave songs, ever.
Those are great songs, and I think Amnesiac gets knocked unfairly overall. However, you subtract "Morning Bell/Amnesiac," "Pulk," and "Hunting Bears," and replace them with "Fog," "Worrywort," and "Cuttooth," and you have a classic on par with OKC and Kid A.
I read this thread and got frustrated cause i was excited for The Eraser and no one here was very enthusiastic, so i said "screw it, if it aint mind blowing i won't wait" and went and... purchased it.... completely legally... and I'm amazed that you guys aren't blown away by it. I'm only listening through for the first time and I think it's totally amazing. It has a really beautiful atmosphere to it, that kind of atmoshphere that made Kid A a classic and Hail to the Thief just an amazing collection of songs. Atoms for peace is beautiful, , the title track is stunning. The way Yorke was describing the album, i was expecting slightly wierd house music, but really... It's much more subdued and moody. I can't stop listening to Atoms for Peace now. I'm actually liking it better than Amnesiac, and i've lived with that album for years.
Edit: Relistening to Skip Divided, which is, as you prolly guessed from the rest of my post, an amazing song, theres this one point where he does something with his voice that, even after six albums of his voice goin all over the place, i've never heard. OOh i'm all essited.
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that's strange, i think i might like "skip divided" the least or maybe second least...what do you guys like about it so much?
overall, i like this album very much, and maybe after some time with it, i'll love it. off the top of my head the first, third, fourth, and eighth (don't have the titles in front of me) are my favorite. these are the songs where i guess the melodies feel the strongest to me and the music is most interesting to me. i think as an album this suffers from being a little too same-y. radiohead gets the benefit of mixing their strongest electronic based songs with their strongest rock based songs (and of course writing songs that involve both sides to stunning effect) to create more diverse albums as a whole. though i could do with more variety, The Eraser's overall mood is engaging and interesting.
Posts: 171 | Location: Phoenix | Registered: 05 September 2004
that's strange, i think i might like "skip divided" the least or maybe second least...what do you guys like about it so much?
overall, i like this album very much, and maybe after some time with it, i'll love it. off the top of my head the first, third, fourth, and eighth (don't have the titles in front of me) are my favorite. these are the songs where i guess the melodies feel the strongest to me and the music is most interesting to me. i think as an album this suffers from being a little too same-y. radiohead gets the benefit of mixing their strongest electronic based songs with their strongest rock based songs (and of course writing songs that involve both sides to stunning effect) to create more diverse albums as a whole. though i could do with more variety, The Eraser's overall mood is engaging and interesting.
I just revisited the song "skip divided," and although i don't love the vocals as much as some other songs on the album, i think the instrumentation on this song is up there with the best on the album.
Nice review, Jonathanbrigsby. I would agree with almost everything you said, but I still disagree with your (and apparently, a lot of other people's) opinion of "skip divided." it's actually become one of my favorite tracks. I hear what you're saying about the lyrics....they seemed a little weak to me at first. But the more I listened to it, and the more i loved the music of the song (i actually love the humming), the lyrics started to grow on me actually. I think the reason why I feel that way is because I think about the fact that he's Thom Yorke, and I think he can say whatever he wants and get away with it.
To make a comparison (not completely similar, but it gets my point across), take the song "All Nite Diner" on Modest Mouse's Building Nothing Out of Something....the lyrics "have i told ya, have i told ya. you can really get it on, you can really get it o-o--on" are, IMO, kind of stupid and sort of funny. But when I think about Isaac Brock's whole vocal style, it fits, because they guy just doesn't give two shits about anything, so he just sings whatever he wants. Because of that, I think he can get away with almost anything....including bad lyrics (of which, Modest Mouse has, even though they are my favorite band of all time).
So, I kind of liken the lyrics in "skip divided" to brock's lyrics in "all nite diner." the music is cool and it's a little out there, and because of their personalities, they can away with saying "I'm a lapdog, i'm your lapdog" etc.
Oh, and before i get jumped on for my comment about Modest Mouse's lyrics, I meant to say that Modest Mouse, IMO, has some questionable/bad lyrics, but those are really just a few lines here and there. Overall, I love Brock's lyrics.
It's definitely a personal matter as to whether you can deal with that sort of thing. The first couple of times I listened to Amnesiac I didn't like the lyrics to "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" but in time I began to really like them and that record which had once been one of my least favorite Radiohead albums is now one of my favorites. I'm certainly not writing the track off. Only time will tell.
Good review, JB. I think Atoms for Peace is one of the best songs i've heard this year. I'm really looking forward to hearingwhat people say about this album when it comes out. I have a feeling though that people are gonna exxaggerate their negative feelings about it for some reason. For me, though, it's the best release of '06 by faaaar.
Well, this album's really grown on me. I should've expected as much. The same thing happened with all the Radiohead albums I've heard. It's probably the second or third best thing I've heard this year. I really like how low Thom gets on "Skip Divided." Generally though, I think the even-numbered tracks are the 4 best on the album. There are no weak spots though. Solid front to end.
Posts: 3931 | Location: NE Indiana | Registered: 14 April 2005
Anyone else see the Allmusic Guide review of The Eraser yesterday? I noticed they didn't post a score but the review itself was glowing.
On another note, the record store I work at got our copies of the album yesterday so I took one home early. After getting my hands on the actual album I'm super pissed off about the packaging. I HATE digipaks and this one doesn't even have a spindle for the disc, so I took it out and put it in a jewelcase right away. No thanks to XL records for that shit. I do really love the record and its artwork, but the foldout booklet/package could've easily been worked into a jewelcase. Okay.....sorry for ranting........pet peeve.
