The Eraser RMXS

Thom YorkeThe Eraser RMXSThom Yorke has a remix album? What?! No way! Thom Yorke, Radiohead’s lead singer and the world’s second most maddening “political musician” (nod to Bono) has gone the way of the techno artist (and Beck)? Not a chance.

Jokes over. The truth is, there are very few Radiohead-related things that are less predictable than remixes. This is the case for a number of reasons: 1) other musicians love Radiohead and kill to have their name attached to them; 2) most Radiohead singles and EPs include remixes; 3) times is tough for record labels right now - why not milk the artists who can still move physical product? So here it is, The Eraser RMXS, a mostly unneeded record that could’ve been purchased online about a year ago - and probably was by anyone who counts themselves a big enough fan to need such a thing.

On this record - which I must say features some killer gold-embossed packaging - eight of The Eraser’s nine original tracks are given the remix treatment by one of today’s top tech-minded artists. The Bug, Burial, Christian Vogel, The Field, Four Tet, Modeselektor - you know, all today’s cool kids. Surprisingly, the variety of different treatments work pretty well here, the only real problem being that their source material wasn’t quite up to par with Yorke’s work with his bandmates. (Just try to imagine a competent remix collection for, say, Kid A!) That said, the way Yorke and longtime producer/friend Nigel Godrich put together their blippy electro-rock lends itself well to reworking.

As soon as Burial’s “And It Rained All Night” remix kicks in we realize that these tunes aren’t so much remixes as they are reworkings. Burial take the vocal tracks, do what they wish with them to the point that we hardly recognize the Yorke we know, and lace them over a dense - almost Gothic - electronic backdrop that hardly resembles the original. Works very well, even if you don’t much feel like you’re listening to a Radiohead product (or is it a by-product?). Surgeon take the mound next, offering a more traditional mix approach to “The Clock,” one of the original album’s finest moments. Keeping the vocals as is, Surgeon lay a dance-y, industrial track in the background. Ehh.

The Bug’s reworking of the now-classic “Harrowdown Hill” goes deeper than the rest, resulting in an epic industrial production that is more likely to turn up in a David Fincher film than on a dance floor. It’s creepy, really. Four Tet’s more organic, live-sounding treatment of “Atoms For Peace” is another highlight, almost even sounding like something Radiohead would whip up themselves. Much has already been said about Cristian Vogel’s two “Black Swan” remixes, and for good reason. Vogel worked hard on these crisply produced takes, and while the results might not be as good as those offered by Four Tet, they do some close.

Do we need The Eraser RMXS on shelves? Some would argue that yes, we need as many Radiohead-related products as possible on the shelf. Others, this reviewer included, can’t help but worry that Radiohead may be beginning their journey down the U2/Beatles alley of fan-milking products. My advice: if you love Radiohead and don’t yet have the new Deerhunter or Animal Collective albums, buy those instead.   6/10

Written by G. William Locke