Man-machine

Man-machine

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 09/03/2006 7:00 AM | Life

Album: The Eraser Artist: Thom Yorke Label: XL Recordings/Aksara Records Rating: *** out of ***** Standout tracks: Harrowdown Hill, Analyse, Atoms for Peace

In the realm of rock, Radiohead's frontman Thom Yorke has achieved a stature once (and still) assumed by Bob Dylan. Even worthless dreck he put out on records would still be considered works of genius by his adoring fans, who are awe-struck by OK Computer, Kid A and to a lesser extent The Bends.

Thousands of fans out there are probably investing a half-hour of their time trying to download one live track from Radiohead, which, to paraphrase one Pitchfork editor, turns out to be just *&#$%@! two minutes of a Robert Fripp-like guitar riff.

This is not to say that Yorke's solo effort The Eraser is the biggest load he ever put out, although some tracks do sound like it -- that is, lengthy electronic blips augmented by his harrowing vocals.

It is Yorke's vocals that makes The Eraser bearable. In spite of his penchant for making computer-generated music (hence OK Computer), Yorke is a luddite, one who longs for the destruction of machines, and despite the mechanized beats and pulses there is something organic about them.

But sometimes, what is needed to give life to songs is the sound of live instruments. The album's two strongest tracks are ones with traces of guitars and an acoustic piano (Harrowdown Hill, Analyse).

In these two tracks (retread of Amnesiac's I Might be Wrong), Yorke does a proper singing job rather than merely reciting verses, as he does on the rest of the album.

Amnesiac may be the least celebrated, pre-millennium Radiohead album, but it has the biggest influence on The Eraser -- even the title has a similar meaning.

Yorke's ennui-laden falsetto also helps Atoms For Peace from disintegrating.

This is what the future (of Radiohead) might sound like.

-- JP/M. Taufiqurrahman.

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