In a recent interview between himself and Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke discussed his heavy interest in the importance of sleep, and the difference between healthy creatively vs. relentless hard work that has no regard for your well being. You would assume that this makes his most recent record his most careful and intelligent yet, but later in the interview, he also says his music-making sessions are similar to a child playing with lego, so maybe not.
ANIMA is Yorke’s third solo album outside of Radiohead, following The Eraser and Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes. Its 9 tracks stick to his usual electronic-driven format with ambient synth programming, melancholic songwriting and brilliant drum work on display. It’s an outside-the-box album that picks things up somewhere around the end of the previous two, both sonically and creatively. Without looking too far beyond Tom’s undoubtedly deep skillset, the record is also ripe for remixing, and something similar to The Eraser Remixes release which featured Burial, Four Tet, Modeselektor, The Bug and Surgeon, would all but complete a story that we’re dying for another chapter of.
Where to start:
‘The Axe’ – Ambient synth work with broken drum rhythms
‘Dawn Chorus’ – Early morning harmonies and a melancholic top line
‘Traffic’ – Modulated basslines and busy drum work
Previous from Thom Yorke:
Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes LP (2014, XL Recordings)
The Eraser LP (2006, XL Recordings)
If you like this then check out:
Four Tet – New Energy LP (2017, Text Records)
Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool (2016, XL Recordings)
Thom Yorke – ANIMA is out now on XL Recordings.