A project that began in lockdown has evolved into a fully formed album concept from two high-quality artists.

Whilst the wait for a new Radiohead album continues, no one can accuse Thom Yorke of being a slacker. Without the millstone of his most successful band round his neck, Yorke has turned out three albums from The Smile and a film soundtrack in the last three years. Yorke has made his love of Warp Records clear on many occassions, and it is something of a surprise it has taken this long for him to appear on the label. Pritchard moves along at his own pace, turning out quality, thoughtful work. He has worked on plenty of remixes over the years, which is how their paths first crossed when he remixed ‘Bloom’ from The King of Limbs album. Pritchard and Yorke sent each other some demo ideas during Covid lockdown and over the past 5 years these have evolved into the album that stands before you.

Opening track, ‘A Fake in a Faker’s World’ might well be my favourite track on the whole album. It is nicely weighted at eight minutes. It bounces in on a catchy beat, Yorke’s voice is more identifiable here than on many of the other tracks where it gets buried under various digital trickery. It is a quality mood piece, seting the tone for the rest of the album to follow. This slides into ‘Ice Shelf’ which has a suitably glacial sheen to it, slightly reminiscent of fellow Warp label-mates Boards of Canada. ‘Bugging Out Again’ does not connect as well for me, though I did appreciate the Vangelis-esque shimmers.

The first single we hit, ‘Back In The Game,’ lifts the tempo. The nagging synth intro opens out into a beat you could almost dance to, Yorke’s vocal has more swagger here than elsewhere. ‘The Spirit’ was released as a surprise last minute single, the fourth from the album. The nagging rhythm has a hint of LCD Soundsystem about it though never quite opens up into a full disco-stomp. ‘Gangsters’ has grown on me a lot more since release. The vocal processing gymnastics turn Yorke into an additional instrument, conveying an air of gentle menace.

Former Reading Indie Life Single of the Week ‘This Conversation is Missing Your Voice’ is perhaps the one that could most easily sit on a Radiohead album as one of their more electronic offerings. Yorke is vocally back in his ‘In Rainbows’ mode, adding a more soulful near falsetto into the mix. ‘Tall Tales’ is overwhelming and woozy, very different to what has appeared to this point. ‘Happy Days’ has a somewhat surrealistic edge to it with its march rhythm undercut by cries of, “Happy days, happy days, death and taxes.”

Those fans of Radiohead who switched off after Kid A and Amnesiac didn’t connect with them will find nothing here to change their opinions of Thom Yorke. Long time fans of Pritchard and Yorke’s work will find this effort reassuringly familiar, yet an interesting collaboration as the skill sets of each blend together to create a surprisingly cohesive whole. The time spent on it all was very much key, it has evolved into something substantial. For casual fans if you are into glitchy electronica and film soundtrack-esque mood pieces then there is much to enjoy on this album.