Each day, the now seemingly inevitable demise of Radiohead appears to be drawing closer. It all started with that “no new albums for a while” news back in August. Then we got those one-off new Radiohead tracks, which took the world by storm. Now we’ve got more Thom Yorke solo single releases rumored to be accompanied by a Yorke solo tour. And more recently, apparently drummer extraordinaire, Philip Selway, will be adding to the confusion.
As many are already aware, while working on Neil Finn’s 7 Worlds Collide Project (with Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien, Jeff Tweedy, Jonny Marr, and others in New Zealand), Selway performed some acoustic ballads of his own at one of the project performances, respectively entitled “The Family Madness” and “The Witching Hour”. Since his January performances, Selway has announced the upcoming release of his own solo debut. While the Radiohead drummer will presumably sing and play guitar, he has rounded up quite a roster to lend their additional services to the effort. The as-of-yet untitled LP will see instrumentation from Wilco’s Glenn Kotche and Patt Sansone, multi-instrumentalist Lisa Germano, and bassist Sebastian Steinberg.
Based on various videos of the performances (see below), “The Family Madness” has a Floyd-esque “Goodbye Blue Sky” vibe, while “The Witching Hour” sounds more like a more stripped-down version of some of the solemn folk that Radiohead has tinkered with in the past (“Gagging Order” or “True Love Waits”). Selway’s voice is surprisingly pretty, which makes some sense, given the background vocals he occasionally lends at Radiohead shows. It’s got a nice, warm whispery texture, and with a little more practice, he could give Sam Beam a run for his money.
Selway has yet to announce a release date, tracklist, or reveal cover art, but the news will probably come soon. With that being said, please guys, “Stay Together for the Kids”.
Some videos of the songs:
“The Family Madness”
“The Witching Hour”
