On his debut album, Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien packs a mixed bag of edgy post-Brit-pop, tropical dance rhythms, and textural acoustic musings. One of the last members to leave the nest, O'Brien -- who goes here by his initials, EOB -- follows bandmates Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Philip Selway in launching a solo side project with Earth, a diverse nine-song set co-produced by Flood (U2, Depeche Mode) and Catherine Marks (Foals, Manchester Orchestra). Prior to this, O'Brien has largely played the role of ...
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On his debut album, Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien packs a mixed bag of edgy post-Brit-pop, tropical dance rhythms, and textural acoustic musings. One of the last members to leave the nest, O'Brien -- who goes here by his initials, EOB -- follows bandmates Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Philip Selway in launching a solo side project with Earth, a diverse nine-song set co-produced by Flood (U2, Depeche Mode) and Catherine Marks (Foals, Manchester Orchestra). Prior to this, O'Brien has largely played the role of collaborator, providing a distinctive sonic cornerstone to Radiohead's sound while also serving as their six-string stalwart when Yorke and Greenwood began experimenting more heavily with synths. On Earth, he stretches out in a variety of musical directions while still keeping the guitar front and center. During its quieter and more concise moments, the album reveals a thoughtful and introspective streak on the breezy acoustic "Long Time Coming" and the winsome folk ballad "Cloak of the Night," which is sung as a duet with Laura Marling. Elsewhere, the songs tend to be more expansive and rhythmically oriented, with two -- the wild looping jams of "Olympik" and the half-acoustic-half-electro-Tropicalia "Brasil" -- topping the eight-minute mark. The album's origin dates back to a 2012 stint living off the grid with his family in rural Brazil. Amid the beauty and isolation, O'Brien found his eureka moment as a songwriter, penning a fountain of songs that he then began recording over the next couple of years before his attention and efforts were sidelined by the recording, promotional, and touring cycle of Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool album. Finally seeing the light of day in early 2020, Earth often recalls the late '90s, when the aftermath of Brit-pop and the burgeoning electronica scene collided with rave, folk, and other disparate elements. At times it almost feels like an alternate-history tendril of pre-Kid A Radiohead that kept its groove going into the coming decades. While those layered textures, pulsing beats, and unfolding guitar loops are fine, it's EOB as a reflective acoustic singer/songwriter that provides Earth's most authentic moments. ~ Timothy Monger, Rovi
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