Live from the basement...
To everyone intent on focusing on the negative of Coronavirus (and I wouldn’t necessarily blame you for that), here’s something that may change your mind a little: Thom Yorke wrote a new song! Yes, that’s right: the legendary Radiohead frontman and world class singer/songwriter who’s been routinely changing the game for nearly 3 decades, introduced a new track into the world, one that he’s apparently been working on in his basement (his words), which may or may not have to do with the fact that Yorke, like billions others across this blue planet of ours, has been stuck at home for weeks on end.
Thus proving once and for all that confinement has its perks. Not for him, perhaps, but definitely for us…
The new song, “Plasticine figures”, is a short, beautifully melodic keyboard-based piece of writing, which obviously sets a perfect stage for Yorke’s often pensive and (almost) always melancholic vocal stylings. As is also rather common with his work, the lyrics that come with it feel somewhat mysterious to the Cartesian man your truly appears to be, which only complements the otherworldly effect of the track.
Thom Yorke, "Plasticine Figures", 2020.
Interestingly, although this song is not necessarily that similar to recent Radiohead work or his very own solo outings (see 2019’s Anima for proof), it is however quite reminiscent of Yorke’s recent contribution to a movie soundtrack: Edward Norton-helmed Motherless Brooklyn’s title track “Daily battles”. Indeed, while Radiohead or solo Yorke alike tend to be more on the experimental side of the equation, featuring sophisticated blends of electronic music and production wonders, toying with the classical verse/chorus song format as well as the very notions of melody and harmonies, “Plasticine figures”, much like that soundtrack, is a welcome return to more traditional musical structures, allowing for a smooth and arguably more straightforward listen.
This does not mean that Yorke should stop with his often groundbreaking — and highly influential — experimentations, or that this new stripped-down sound of his is our ultimate wish for the artist (mine is still a return to OK Computer-styled compositions, if I’m honest). But it does go to show once again that Yorke is a bona fide musical genius, seemingly incapable of producing anything mediocre, regardless the genre. And, despite the rather notable style changes, his sound remarkably remains very much his own: a tribute if there ever was to the immense musical personality of the man…
If this lockdown lasts any longer, at least we can hope for more Yorke creations to keep us company…