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The Eraser
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 37 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 155 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: XL
Release Date: 11 July 2006
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Alternative, Rock, Electronic
Summary
Nigel Godrich produced this 9-song solo debut for the Radiohead frontman, which mainly sounds like--shockingly--a Radiohead album, albeit with much less guitar.
Also On Metacritic
MUSIC: Radiohead: Amnesiac Radiohead: Hail To The Thief Radiohead: Kid A
Also On The Web: Official Album Site Official Radiohead Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Prefix Magazine
What makes it breathe, what allows it to flourish above its glitchy techno, its processed wizardry... what untangles it from a mess of circuitry and power strips and anti-virus pop-up warnings, is Yorke's incredible, distinctive voice.
Read Full Review >musicOMH.com
He's well able to marry insightful lyrics and memorable melody to a genre not always associated with such qualities.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
'Kid B'? Yeah, OK - but Radiohead will never make another album like it, and as a twin, it's every bit the equal.
Read Full Review >Playlouder
'The Eraser' is Radiohead's fourth best album, and not bad considering it's the first one with only one man on it.
Read Full Review >Dot Music
You must surely marvel at Thom Yorke's insistence to challenge his audience and his enemies.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
It sounds as you would expect: a desolate dreamscape punctuated by nervous drum machines. In other words, it's a bit Kid A. [Aug 2006, p.110]
Uncut
What makes The Eraser great is Yorke's singing. [Aug 2006, p.82]
Mojo
The Eraser is less crabbed, cryptic or violently bitter than Hail To The Thief... and is often more satisfying for that. [Aug 2006, p.86]
Billboard
Anyone who found the alien sonic landscapes of "Kid A" a bit overwhelming will feel much more at home with these nine less fussy but primarily electronica-dominated compositions.
Read Full Review >Delusions of Adequacy
The album doesn't make the point that Yorke doesn't need his bandmates to make a great record so much as it helps shed light on what each member of the band contributes to the overall equation.
Read Full Review >BBC collective
The Eraser’s sound lies somewhere between the roiling beat soup of Amnesiac and a poppier sensibility.
Read Full Review >NOW Magazine
The spare melodies and bleeps-and-loops approach result in chillingly direct songs.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
The Eraser is full of moments when you wait for the band to kick in, and it doesn't happen.
Read Full Review >Filter
It's hard to imagine that fans of Radiohead will be all that disappointed by The Eraser, and it's miles better than a dozen or so other solo projects that come to mind. [#21, p.93]
Urb
Perhaps an EP would have better-suited Yorke's solo aspirations. [Jul/Aug 2006, p.115]
Spin
These are the weirdest tracks Yorke has ever been a part of. [Aug 2006, p.75]
Drowned In Sound
While The Eraser might not be a genre-busting classic like Kid A or OK Computer it's a good, solid record nonetheless.
Read Full Review >Tiny Mix Tapes
Nigel's production and arrangements leave very little room for the songs to breathe... However, the emphasis on Thom's lyrics illuminates The Eraser's strongest asset: its content.
Read Full Review >Under The Radar
The resulting songs are considerably more understated than most anything in the Radiohead oeuvre, more dark electronic pop than dramatically layered art-rock. [#14]
The Guardian
It sounds exactly like you would expect a Thom Yorke solo album to sound: twitchy electronic beats, doomy washes of synthesizer, backing vocals that are invariably high, wordless and ghostly.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
Slight, but carrying a fair amount of weight, The Eraser isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s much more than solo-project divergence.
Read Full Review >Almost Cool
Radiohead fans will obviously want to snag it up, but if you’re looking for melancholic electronic pop, there’s much better to be found.
Read Full Review >E! Online
This could have been groundbreaking once upon a time, but there's nothing really new here and only a few songs ever rise above sheer novelty value.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
One could imagine the dynamics, colors, and crescendos his bandmates might've added, and without them Yorke sounds hemmed in.
Read Full Review >MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
Such is the lure of his hypersensitivity that his admirers forgive and even applaud the extreme attenuation of this tastefully decorated click-and-loop.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Where The Eraser sags is in the middle, with tracks 3-5 falling particularly flat. Like too many of Radiohead's new songs, they contain a single weak idea dragged on interminably.
Read Full Review >Blender
Unfortunately, most of The Eraser is half-finished sketches, dressed up with a few of Nigel Godrich's subtle production tricks. [Aug 2006, p.105]
Alternative Press
Somewhat mirthless and at times downright android-sexy, The Eraser is what many Radiohead fans have come to expect from Yorke in recent years. [Sep 2006, p.228]
Village Voice
Yorke's voice... has rarely sounded better, although the context ultimately disappoints.
Read Full Review >Slant Magazine
If anything, The Eraser more than proves that Yorke, no matter how intriguing or forward-thinking his ideas, needs the democracy of Radiohead to ground his more angular artistic impulses.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 155 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Osian L. gave it a7:
Mesmerising, interesting, but sometimes weak, this album shows that Radiohead isn't all Thom Yorke's imput. An intruiging album, and one of the better solo projects I've listened to.
P H gave it a10:
The album is amazing, the texture manages to be both lush and sparse at the same time, leading to a unique aural experience. A complete triumph.
Reza M. gave it a9:
It's music from another planet. No one can sing or write songs like this in the earth.
Erik H gave it a6:
This album really isn't that good. Thom Yorke is not strong enough to carry an album without his bandmates. CMG nailed it when they wrote simply "The Eraser is not Radiohead good."
Max M. gave it a9:
Thom Yorke just keeps getting better and better. Some of the sound effects in songs like Harrowdown Hill and Black Swan sound really cheap like they came straight off of GarageBand or something, but otherwise, it is Thom Yorke at his best. I can't wait to see how demented the 2007 Radiohead album is gonna be.
dyzc _ gave it a9:
The Eraser is a one of a kind album. Its a very concentrated and focused sound. I believe this album fits the year 2006 and 2007, 2008, 2009.... For me, OK Computer is the best Radiohead album because the album 'in total', i think, is better. But the Eraser is a different sound. I hope Radiohead will continue this road...and then in this sound the best is yet to come....
Greg N. gave it a10:
Easily the best album of 2006.
