Artist: Thom Yorke
Single: "Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses"/"The Hollow Earth"
Year: 2009
Grade: 2.5 pretzels
(The way the music industry functions is in flux right now. Bands have been experimenting with online distribution since the early 90s, some artists feel the idea of long-playing albums is outdated and then there’s that whole “illegal downloading” thing you’ve heard so much about. It’s undeniable that the way music is distributed to the public is changing, especially after Radiohead threw themselves into the headlines with their wacky In Rainbows release system. As a self-proclaimed music critic, I feel the need to change with the times, however scary that may be. As such, I’m creating a new type of review, the “Single/EP Review,” to cover some of the new ways music is being sent out into the world these days.)
Thom Yorke’s new double A-side single is a sign that his solo career, launched in 2006 with his The Eraser album, might be more than just a glitchy side project. The glitches are still there, but these two songs feel like very logical continuations of the aesthetic Thom layed out on The Eraser. Suddenly, we’re starting to get a solid, auditory idea of what differentiates “Radiohead songs” from “Thom Yorke songs.”
The first song, “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses”, should be well-known to rabid Radiohead fans. Several live versions of the song have been floating around the Internet for years, often under the name “Reckoner”. While that title was salvaged for a completely different track on In Rainbows, “Feeling Pulled” has finally seen the light of day through Thom’s solo output. The track still retains the tense, grinding bass beat it’s always had, but the structure of the song has shifted away from guitar-driven chaos towards a deeply unsettling, electronic groove. Yorke has also scrapped the song’s original chorus, instead opting for one steady, unrelenting slap of rhythm. The song still can’t shake it’s slightly underwritten-sounding quality, but it seems like Thom can finally live with this song in its current state.
The other side of the single features a previously unheard song, “The Hollow Earth”. Featuring a bizarrely upbeat vocal performance from Thom, it will surely stick out a bit to Radiohead fans expecting the usual slow-burning atmosphere. Launching itself with Yorke’s acappela falsetto, the song hits the ground running and never really stops. After a while, a variety of squiggly electronic lines and some reverb-drenched percussion drags the song towards some of Radiohead’s more experimental tracks. The sad truth is that “The Hollow Earth”, despite all its forward motion, never really goes anywhere. It feels like a twitchy sketch that never got completely fleshed out.
Thom Yorke’s new double A-side single is a sign that his solo career, launched in 2006 with his The Eraser album, might be more than just a glitchy side project. The glitches are still there, but these two songs feel like very logical continuations of the aesthetic Thom layed out on The Eraser. Suddenly, we’re starting to get a solid, auditory idea of what differentiates “Radiohead songs” from “Thom Yorke songs.”
The first song, “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses”, should be well-known to rabid Radiohead fans. Several live versions of the song have been floating around the Internet for years, often under the name “Reckoner”. While that title was salvaged for a completely different track on In Rainbows, “Feeling Pulled” has finally seen the light of day through Thom’s solo output. The track still retains the tense, grinding bass beat it’s always had, but the structure of the song has shifted away from guitar-driven chaos towards a deeply unsettling, electronic groove. Yorke has also scrapped the song’s original chorus, instead opting for one steady, unrelenting slap of rhythm. The song still can’t shake it’s slightly underwritten-sounding quality, but it seems like Thom can finally live with this song in its current state.
The other side of the single features a previously unheard song, “The Hollow Earth”. Featuring a bizarrely upbeat vocal performance from Thom, it will surely stick out a bit to Radiohead fans expecting the usual slow-burning atmosphere. Launching itself with Yorke’s acappela falsetto, the song hits the ground running and never really stops. After a while, a variety of squiggly electronic lines and some reverb-drenched percussion drags the song towards some of Radiohead’s more experimental tracks. The sad truth is that “The Hollow Earth”, despite all its forward motion, never really goes anywhere. It feels like a twitchy sketch that never got completely fleshed out.
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