Thom Yorke's first solo effort is another record I had no idea about. I suspected that it would sound like "The Thom and Johnny Show," which is how I tend to describe Radiohead's electronic meanderings when I'm feeling charitable. As it turns out, I was both right and wrong, and The Eraser surprised me. It's unpretentious, straightforward, and, well, pretty good. It's largely electronic -- mostly sparse melodic loops over stuttering synthetic rhythms -- but there are real keyboards, and even (gasp) guitars to be heard. What's really interesting is that if this performance is any indication, the material really holds up live. I'll be very curious to see if a sanctioned live EP ever surfaces.

The album is pretty light and maintains the same steady mellow mood throughout. I don't think that hurts it, as it isn't long enough that the tracks really start to blur together. Still, it isn't exactly upbeat. I also found that The Eraser got lost a little bit midway through, wandering off into musical diddling, but it found itself again by the end without losing my attention.

If the electronic bits of Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief were as good as the ones on The Eraser, I'd probably listen to those two Radiohead albums a lot more than I do. This is definitely a step forward from that material, and bodes well for future Radiohead releases (something the band says are a long way off). The Eraser will certainly keep me interested in the meantime.

The Record: The Eraser (Thom Yorke), 2006
One-line verdict: Mellow, but pretty good.
Standount Tracks: The Eraser, Black Swan

I had no idea that this record was coming out until the day before its release. In some ways, that's probably a good thing, because Muse's last album, Absolution is on my Top Five All-Time Favourite Records list -- an incongruously-named list that changes on a semi-regular basis. In any case, I adore Absolution, and had I known it was coming I would have anticipated this record as breathlessly as I awaited Radiohead's follow-up to The Bends almost ten years ago. I do like OK Computer, but I'll always have The Bends.
I sometimes read Pitchfork Media, one of the snootiest review sites out there, and I'm somewhat conflicted about it. In some ways it helps that they disdain me and much of my taste in music (Lateralus was awarded a whopping 1.9/10; I would reverse the digits in much the same way as the Canadian government did with its underreported budget surplus in 2004) and that as a general rule I return the favour, but by the same token, there have been times when they've directed me to some gems. Boards of Canada are a good example.

In any case, Pitchfork's review of Black Holes and Revelations proposes that Muse's "vision of rock" is composed of three elements: "1) distortion is always better than no distortion; 2) every measure of music should contain at least one drum fill; and 3) the future will be dominated by robots." Now, these somewhat hyperbolic tenets are things of which I generally approve (though I'll admit to being somewhat ambivalent about the robots thing), which is why I prefer Absolution to a great many other less full-sounding, less hard-rocking records. I also own Showbiz and Origin of Symmetry, and until BHaR I thought Muse were getting noticeably better with each record.

BHaR takes the OoS sound as a basis and then dials it back to about 1987. Unlike some, I don't particularly have a problem with bands appearing to follow trends -- and Muse have definitely been influenced to some extent by the explosion of dance-rock bands like The Killers (ugh) and The Music (worth looking into) -- but that doesn't mean I have to like the result. My initial reaction as I made my way through BHaR was "what happened?"

I also find it puzzling that as far as I can tell, the "bonus" track, Glorious, given to people who pre-ordered or downloaded the album from iTMS (I didn't), sounds better (where "better" means "more like something from Absolution) than anything on BHaR"). The hard-rocking Assassin is nice to hear, but the pure 80's pop of Starlight is a bit much.

I don't mind the record as a whole, but the best endorsement I can give it is that it's decent. It grooves in places and rocks in places, but it also makes me wonder why I bought it in places. Absolution, then, will still be the first Muse record I recommend to anyone. Actually, it will probably remain one of the first records I recommend to anyone, period. If BHaR is any indication, Absolution's place on the Top Five is in no danger of being usurped by another Muse record.

The Record: Black Holes and Revelations (Muse), 2006
One-line verdict: What happened?
Standount Tracks: Assassin, Hoodoo