Thom Yorke - Analyse

Thom Yorke's debut (don't mention 'solo') album is a distant affair. Whilst not surprising to find him in as sombre a mood as ever, the detached nature of his work has added to the mystique and alienation that enveloped the post 'Bends' Radiohead albums. Analyse is a prime example. Over a hypnotic piano loop and a fabricated, industrial sounding drumbeat, Yorke is in seemingly pretenseless humour. Lyrically, ("fences that you cannot climb / the sentences that do not rhyme") he is as frustrated with life as ever. Musically, this could be the antithesis to Radiohead's supposedly impending return to rock. And it sounds bloody marvellous. [Finbarr Bermingham]