CD Review

When Thom Yorke sings, people listen. For that reason alone, Yorke making a solo album makes perfect sense. On his solo debut, The Eraser, Yorke's gnarled voice works its magic alongside an assortment of synthesizers, drum machines and loops.

Along with long time producer Nigel Goodrich’s production wizardry, The Eraser is already being hailed as the favorite for the next Mercury Prize. Playing all the instruments himself, Yorke has crafted songs that sound like the building blocks of Kid A, Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief tracks, with chunky musical references from those past albums that all sound vaguely familiar.

However with little in the way of musical soundscapes, it’s Yorke’s voice - not the songs - that are the winners, as his quivering voice cringes, moans and echoes in the fragile perplexity that made most of the world Radiohead fans in the first place. Althought The Eraser doesn't hold its own to a full Radiohead album, chalk it up as a worthwhile chapter till the next epic is delivered.