Thom Yorke needs no introduction. To most, he’s best known as lead singer of Radiohead, arguably the most defining band of the past thirty years. To those more tuned in, he’s also an established artist in his own right. Someone willing to push boundaries in the pursuit of musical innovation and greatness.
The Radiohead frontman is no stranger to a risk or two over the years. He’s indulged himself in a wide range of diverse side projects to date, freeing himself from the constraints of band life. Solo albums, film soundtracks, collaborations and supergroup formations, Thom has done the lot.
In January 2024, his latest side project The Smile released their second album to a wave of critical acclaim, again proving Thom Yorke’s knack for outstanding musical production is just as fantastic as ever. And as we come to terms with the excellent ‘Wall Of Eyes’, what better time to take a run through Thom’s extensive side project work than now.
For this task, a list of songs have been selected from his various side projects to take you through a journey of Thom Yorke’s career outside of Radiohead.
Ready to dive in? Here’s a guide to the singer’s work through 10 of his best songs.
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‘Harrowdown Hill’ (Eraser, 2006)
Thom Yorke took the brave step to becoming a solo artist after Radiohead finished touring ‘Hail To The Thief’ (2003). Long time producer Nigel Godrich was hired again to help on a new doomed, electronic-focused venture, using Radiohead’s library of recent samples to create the sounds for The Eraser.
The Eraser was produced in seven weeks and first taster ‘Harrowdown Hill’ felt like the perfect introduction. A funky bassline and haunting electronics carry the debut single with Yorke’s heartbreaking lyrics coming from the perspective of David Kelly, a weapons inspector who killed himself in 2003 after telling a reporter that the British government had lied about finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. “I can’t take the pressure, no one cares if you live or die” sings Yorke within the second verse, the pain eking through his voice, “they just want me gone, they want me gone…” he continues.
‘Harrowdown Hill’ still remains one of Yorke’s angriest and most impactful songs he’s ever released.
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‘Analyse’ (Eraser, 2006)
After exploring electronic textures on Kid A (2000), Radiohead spent the next couple of albums gradually returning to their guitar roots. So, with Thom Yorke re-exploring similar terrain on The Eraser, it’s hardly a wild guess to suggest the Oxfordshire band’s innovative move on their fourth record was mostly his idea in the first place.
But while Kid A took a while to be appreciated, The Eraser’s acclaim was immediate in comparison: the July released album was soon nominated for the 2006 Mercury Prize (worth noting that Kid A was completely neglected for this award in 2000…). During the September award ceremony performance itself, Thom cut a figure of a man possessed, playing a stripped-down version of second single ‘Analyse’. The end result was a mesmerising five minutes of hair-raising power and stunning raw beauty.
The mournful ballad is inspired by a blackout in his Oxford hometown and the electronically spruced-up album version is one The Eraser’s best. As memorable as anything else Radiohead had put out in the years before.
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‘Hearing Damage’ (The Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack, 2009)
For such an uncool film series, Twilight definitely prides itself on having a cool soundtrack: alternative artists like Death Cab For Cutie, Lykke Li and even Radiohead themselves have featured. On the second film of the series, Thom Yorke snuck in with a song of his own. An original track that, quite frankly, blew the rest of the soundtrack out the water.
The wobbly synths and echoey vocals on ’Hearing Damage’ provide an overall sense of dread before the longing chorus lyrics hit: “You can do no wrong / In my eyes, in my eyes”. His eerie soundtrack addition is a relatively direct one for Yorke, brilliantly matching the moody demeanour of protagonist Bella Swan.
Is Thom Yorke’s music a natural fit for a teen romantic fantasy film? That much is doubtful. But his contribution conveyed adolescent feelings of restlessness, desire and anxiety within youthful relationships like no one else could. Perhaps cool Uncle Thom could be down with the kids, after all.
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‘Default’ by Atoms For Peace (AMOK, 2013)
Thom Yorke has done so much over the past couple of decades you’d be forgiven for forgetting that Atoms For Peace ever happened. So, here’s a quick reminder. Yes, Thom Yorke joined forces with Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to form a supergroup which also included producer Nigel Godrich, experienced drummer Joey Warner and percussionist Mauro Refosco. And no, you didn’t just imagine it.
The band were born from a handful of live dates between 2009 and 2010, allowing Yorke to bring the music of ‘The Eraser’ to life. They had so much fun Atoms For Peace joined forces again a couple of years later to release their first studio album.
‘AMOK’ is a more full-blooded affair than ‘The Eraser’, skillfully mixing IDM, afrobeats and experimental rock for an intriguing nine-track debut. Second track ‘Default’ steals the show, though. An upbeat electronic song with rattling cymbals and Yorke’s whispery vocals describing a protagonist stuck in an unhealthy act. Music to loosen your hips and crazy dance like Thom Yorke in Radiohead’s ‘Lotus Flower’ video.
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‘Nose Grows Some’ (Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, 2014)
After an eight-year period that saw Thom Yorke involved in two Radiohead albums and the Atoms For Peace project, the singer finally got round to producing his sophomore album. A cause for celebration, right? Well, not quite. There was something of an underwhelming reaction to the whole thing. The techno-infused, 38-minute record was pleasant enough for fans of his earlier work, but it just lacked the melodies and stand-out moments of ‘The Eraser’. A forgettable listen, for the most part.
Arguably, the most interesting part of the record was the unorthodox method of distribution. Protesting the lack of compensation artists receive from streaming platforms, Tomorrows Modern Boxes was initially released on the peer to peer sharing site BitTorrent via a paygate feature. That’s not to say it wasn’t all worth forgetting. On ‘Nose Grows Some’, the blissful finale combines Yorke’s warm vocals, glitchy beats and icy synths to, at least, leave the record on a memorable highpoint. The synth-led hymn rivals Thom Yorke’s best solo efforts.
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‘Suspirium’ (Suspiria – Music from the Luca Quadagnino Film, 2018)
In 2018, Thom Yorke composed the soundtrack to Luca Guadagnino’s remake of a horror classic, Suspiria. The move wasn’t just a surprise as he’d turned down a similar role for Fight Club in 1997, but because it was Yorke’s first project in 23 years to not include producer Nigel Godrich (production was instead shared between Thom Yorke and Sam Petts-Davies). The eclectic and eerie soundtrack combined elements of krautrock and electronic sci-fi, while also featuring the London Contemporary Orchestra for an equally uneasy and beautiful 80-minute listen.
However, it was one song, in particular, that stood out above the others. ‘Suspirium’ is a stunning, haunting ballad which, again, revealed the raw power of Thom Yorke’s voice when matched with an ominous piano riff. The fragile track marks the peak of his creative endeavours and currently sits as one of his most popular on streaming platforms (50 million Spotify listens to date…). Thom Yorke hasn’t written too many better songs.
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‘Dawn Chorus’ (ANIMA, 2019)
When Thom Yorke delivered ‘ANIMA’ in 2019, his third solo album was heralded as a return to form following the ambivalent reaction to ‘Tomorrow’s Morning Boxes’ (2014). Little surprise then when Grammy nominations and a Billboard chart number 1 soon followed.
A theme of anxiety, dreaming and dystopia run throughout ‘ANIMA’, nine tracks of beautifully dark and tender moments. The record was accompanied by an eerie, short Netflix film by Paul Thomas Anderson, a feature which places the emotionally stirring ‘Dawn Chorus’ within the beautiful finale.
The ambient track itself is soundtracked by downbeat synths and has the singer address someone who continually makes the same mistakes in life (“Back up the cul de sac / Come on do your worst / You’ve quit your job again / And your train of thought…”, he opens). By no means the most complex song on ANIMA, ‘Dawn Chorus’ certainly stood out as the record’s emotive centrepiece.
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‘His Rope’ by Burial, Four Tet and Thom Yorke (Her Revolution / His Rope, 2020)
From working with the likes of PJ Harvey, UNCLE and Bjork, Thom Yorke has involved himself in many a collaborative effort over the years. Except none are quite as memorable as his work with Burial and Four Tet. Nine years after their initial collaboration ‘Ego / Mirror’, Thom joined forces again with the London-based electronic musicians in 2020 for a couple of new tracks, ‘Her Revolution’ and ‘His Rope’. The latter song hit the hardest of the two: soothingly downtempo and containing trip hop vibes to echo the brilliance of Bristol dance music Massive Attack.
‘His Rope’ takes the collaboration to new levels of bleakness, aided by hazy synths and sluggish beats. Thom’s ominous lyrics hint towards darkness and regret (“I cut the rope, step out / In an instant it’s all over”). Later, the track’s demise lifts the mood into a more hopeful tone. Released during the frightening early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, its understated dystopian nature felt wonderfully apt upon release.
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‘You Will Never Work In Television Again’ by The Smile (A Light For Attracting Attention, 2022)
As we waited (and still wait…) for Radiohead to deliver album number 10, rumours spread over lockdown that the band were secretly cooking up something for our listening pleasure. What we got, instead, wasn’t altogether too different. The Smile announced themselves in early-January 2022, Thom Yorke joining forces with Radiohead bandmate Johnny Greenwood, producer Nigel Godrich and Sons Of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner for an entirely new project. 40% of Radiohead wasn’t quite Radiohead, but it did enough to appease the reunion calls… at least for the time being.
They arrived with a bang in the form of the raw ‘You Will Never Work in Television Again’, with Thom Yorke’s rock scowl even made us feel like we were being transported back to Radiohead’s The Bends-era. Ultimately, it stood at odds to the polished sound of debut A Light For Attracting Attention. But still, the infectious song welcomed a raucous side to Thom Yorke we hadn’t heard in quite some time.
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‘Bending Hectic’ by The Smile (Wall Of Eyes, 2024)
Rather than deliver on the anticipation of a new Radiohead record, Thom Yorke decided to make hay while the sun was shining on The Smile. In early 2023, they confirmed album number two was in the pipeline and, that June, dropped ‘Bending Hectic’. In isolation, an eight-minute slow burner is perhaps an odd choice to preview a new record. By the time Wall Of Eyes arrived in January 2024, the song stood out as a cinematic epic without a second feeling wasted.
The penultimate track on their latest record opens with woozy guitars, dreamy orchestrations and lyrics which describe a car crash in the Italian mountainside (“The ground is coming for me now /Wе’ve gone over the edge / If you’ve got something to say / Say it now”). The plunge of the vehicle follows later for a crescendo of screeching strings, anarchic noise and a climactic ‘A Day In The Life’-esque finale. An enthralling peak, further proving The Smile weren’t just any old side project worth discounting.
There you have it! Thom Yorke’s side project career in ten tracks. The wait may go on for Radiohead’s tenth album but if you’re sick of waiting, their frontman’s extensive work outside the band is well worth revisiting. Because – whisper it – a lot of it is as great as the main event itself.
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Words: Matthew Mclister
