It’s been a long time coming but Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien has finally released his debut solo album under the moniker EOB. Featuring familiar names like Laura Marling, Portishead guitarist Adrian Utley, Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche and Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood, Earth is a warm and precise delivery of indie rock.
Produced by Flood (U2, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, PJ Harvey, Foals), the soundscape is immediately immersive on the celebratory opening track Shangri-La. The multilayered Olympik stays ringing in your ears for days and Mass is a dreamswept tapestry of harmonies and reverb. Coming in at eight minutes and 27 seconds, Brasil is a two-part act that pushes gentle jangly guitars against a bigger and more theatrical experimental sound. Harking to the days of Primal Scream’s Screamadelica and – at a push – flashes of Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief, there’s a strong undercurrent of electronica but O’Brien’s guitar work and voice drive this record home.
Citing a lack of confidence for never writing lyrics before and admitting that he initially wanted bandmate Thom Yorke to take care of vocals, there’s a sense that this album almost never was. There is something quite humbling in the fact that O’Brien took his time with his debut. Roughly in the works since 2009, Earth is an accomplished record, full of care, love, style and finesse.
