• Record Label: XL
  • Release Date: Jul 11, 2006
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 37 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 37
  2. Negative: 0 out of 37
  1. Intensely focused and steady.
  2. 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.
  3. Uncut
    80
    What makes The Eraser great is Yorke's singing. [Aug 2006, p.82]
  4. Slight, but carrying a fair amount of weight, The Eraser isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s much more than solo-project divergence.
  5. Mojo
    80
    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]
  6. Q Magazine
    80
    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]
  7. 'Kid B'? Yeah, OK - but Radiohead will never make another album like it, and as a twin, it's every bit the equal.
  8. The Eraser is full of moments when you wait for the band to kick in, and it doesn't happen.
  9. He's well able to marry insightful lyrics and memorable melody to a genre not always associated with such qualities.
  10. Under The Radar
    70
    The resulting songs are considerably more understated than most anything in the Radiohead oeuvre, more dark electronic pop than dramatically layered art-rock. [#14]
  11. 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.
  12. While The Eraser might not be a genre-busting classic like Kid A or OK Computer it's a good, solid record nonetheless.
  13. A claustrophobic sequel to Thief.
  14. Spin
    70
    These are the weirdest tracks Yorke has ever been a part of. [Aug 2006, p.75]
  15. One could imagine the dynamics, colors, and crescendos his bandmates might've added, and without them Yorke sounds hemmed in.
  16. 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.
  17. The spare melodies and bleeps-and-loops approach result in chillingly direct songs.
  18. 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.
  19. Filter
    72
    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]
  20. The Eraser is not Radiohead good.
  21. 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.
  22. You must surely marvel at Thom Yorke's insistence to challenge his audience and his enemies.
  23. 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.
  24. Urb
    70
    Perhaps an EP would have better-suited Yorke's solo aspirations. [Jul/Aug 2006, p.115]
  25. 'The Eraser' is Radiohead's fourth best album, and not bad considering it's the first one with only one man on it.
  26. 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.
  27. Difficult, certainly, but not without its charms.
  28. The results are competent, if unsurprising.
  29. 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.
  30. Such is the lure of his hypersensitivity that his admirers forgive and even applaud the extreme attenuation of this tastefully decorated click-and-loop.
  31. The Eraser’s sound lies somewhere between the roiling beat soup of Amnesiac and a poppier sensibility.
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 219 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 8 out of 219
  1. PH
    Nov 7, 2007
    10
    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.
  2. j30
    Mar 22, 2012
    8
    The Eraser sounds much better than an afterthought, as reported prior to Thom Yorke's solo release. Although the album does come across coldThe Eraser sounds much better than an afterthought, as reported prior to Thom Yorke's solo release. Although the album does come across cold and distant, there's a art behind the mysteriousness about it that makes you want more. Full Review »
  3. TheMan
    Aug 5, 2006
    0
    my bro likes him and radiohead but they suck so dont buy this cd it sucks like crap