Earth

by 

EOB

AlbumApr 17 / 20209 songs, 46m 4s
Art Rock
Popular

Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien was 51 by the time he’d readied this, his first solo album. Even though he’d been writing his own material since the making of *OK Computer* almost a quarter of a century earlier, a couple of things slowed his path towards turning his ideas into songs. One was confidence. “I didn’t know how to write,” he tells Apple Music. “I had lots of little musical motifs, but, kind of ridiculously, I don’t know why I didn’t ever sit down with Thom \[Yorke\] and say, ‘How do you do it?’ And anything that I started writing, it was like, ‘Well, it’s not as good as “Street Spirit.”’” The other was family—which wasn’t an obstacle as much as an involving step in O’Brien becoming a songwriter. “I *wanted* to be a dad,” he says. “Most people in our game, it’s like the art comes first: ‘I am a fucking artist and that rides roughshod over everything.’ I say this to people all the time: Don’t be scared of being a parent, and don’t be scared that whilst your children are young your creative output isn’t as great as it was. Because I believe that in the long run, you feed that humanity back into your music. For me, it was like a mirror on all my weaknesses. And I had to sort my shit out—it wasn’t easy, but you have to do it. Being an artist, that humanity is really important. It feeds your art and it nourishes you in a way that gives you longevity.” It’s no surprise then that *Earth* pulses with life’s many moods and tones, beginning with the percolating rhythms and guitar growls of “Shangri-La” before eventually falling to a gentle, hushed close with the Laura Marling-assisted “Cloak of the Night.” In between, O’Brien is seething at the 2007-8 financial crisis (“Banksters”), but the prevailing mood is positivity as he considers solidarity, hope, and mortality. He may have taken his time to get here, but O’Brien’s restless sense of musical adventure ensures *Earth* never sounds wearied—“Brasil” alone travels from pastoral folk to dance-tent euphoria in little more than eight minutes. And the spiky agitation of “Banksters” might even have Thom Yorke wondering why his bandmate didn’t break out those little motifs a bit sooner.

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5.7 / 10

Unlike his bandmates’ forays in electronica or contemporary classical, Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien’s solo debut looks fondly back at the kind of British rock his own group abandoned.

The NME review of Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien's debut solo album 'Earth' under the name EOB – a life-affirming blend of tender folk and blissed out rave

8 / 10

Ed O’Brien goes on a fantastic voyage for his solo debut

For years as a guitarist with Radiohead, Ed O’Brien added deep texture to the band’s sonic landscapes. On his first solo record, released under the EOB moniker, he shows more of that deft atmospheric skill — but often at the expense of watertight songwriting.

Radiohead's Ed O'Brien has finally stepped out from the shadows with the release of his exceptional solo debut, 'Earth.' Read our review.

Too indirect and underplayed.

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).

8 / 10

Ed O'Brien is no stranger to success. After all, the 52-year-old musician remains a key member of Radiohead — one of modern music's most inf...

8 / 10

Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of planet Earth taken by the Voyager 1 space probe at a distance of 3.7 billion miles. In the photograph, Earth’s

(Polydor)<br>

7 / 10

EOB, aka Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien, presents us with a mild, often lovely collection of tracks by way of his debut solo album

7.2 / 10

Earth by EOB AKA: Radiohead Guitarist Ed O'Brien, album review by Gregory Adams. The English guitarist/singer/songwriter's solo LP comes out on April 17th

70 %

Radiohead's Ed O'Brien releases his debut solo album, Earth, through Polydor Records.

3.5 / 5

EOB - Earth review: A suitably low-key debut offering that reflects the early days of Radiohead.

7 / 10