The Man can do no wrong. Capital M: He deserves it. Thom Yorke‘s latest project finds him slipping further into experimentation; the avant garde. As if we haven’t seen this coming since 2000’s Kid A, easily one of the most prolific albums of the decade. “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses” and b-side “The Hollow Earth” are a play on the hypnotic. Both leave the listener with a true experience.
Dark and brooding, “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses” focuses on a consistent percussive beat and a trippy bass-line while the vocals lapse into echoing loops. Ah yes, that expert bass, provided by the crazed Flea. The make-up of this new Thom Yorke supergroup also includes Nigel Goldrich (Radiohead producer) and Joey Waronker (drummer for R.E.M and Beck), as well as multi-instrumentalist/percussionist Mauro Refosco.
“The Hollow Earth” has a more distinct vocal part than the a-side, in that it’s almost decipherable. Almost. Again with the beats, compatible with more recent Radiohead works as well as Yorke’s solo stuff; where the vocals were the primary experimental element in “Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses”, here it’s the clanging percussion reverberating in the background as well as eerie backing vocal tones.
Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses b/w The Hollow Earth is further proof that Thom Yorke deserves knighthood. His genius warrants the annotation. Conclusion: this Man can do no wrong.
W.A.S.T.E. [12″ Single, 2009]
1. Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses
2. The Hollow Earth
Prolific was the wrong word. Should have read “esteemed.” My bad.