The Cultured Girl

Upgrade: Thom Yorke, Eraser
Old favorites: Radiohead, the Postal Service, David Bowie

Given the spastic freakouts of Radiohead’s last two albums, Amnesiac and Hail to the Thief, you might expect Thom Yorke’s first solo outing to be equally high-strung. But when left to his own devices, Yorke has relaxed, letting his pointed vocals and matter-of-fact lyrics take center stage over simple, layered arrangements. Eraser has Yorke still veering away from rock and roll, but now he’s going in the direction of mellow electronica—think Boards of Canada or the Notwist—rather than following the epic experimental path blazed by Radiohead as of late. While Eraser doesn’t break brilliant new ground, it is a captivating and cohesive album with several standout tracks, including the trancelike melodies of “And It Rained All Night,” the Eno-inspired pop of “Harrowdown Hill,” and the straightforward “this is fucked up” poetry of “Black Swan.”