By Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer Published Jun 19, 2006 at 3:13 PM
Thom Yorke is more than Radiohead's front man, he is the voice of the band. His plaintive style renders the wide-ranging music produced by the Oxford band immediately recognizable. So, when word hit that Yorke will release a solo disc, "The Eraser," in July, some of us wondered: are these Radiohead outtakes? Is this his chance to follow a path too uncharted even for Radiohead?

Fans will be happy to find that Yorke hasn't used his solo LP as a dumping ground nor has he taken it as an opportunity to record bird noises and screeching delivery room screaming (thank you John and Yoko). While "The Eraser" -- produced by frequent Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich -- is heavily rooted in electronica and is by no means mainstream, the structure of the tunes is fairly straightforward and the tunes are all melodic and, of course, Yorke's voice is plangent and instantly identifiable.

But, the nine-song set doesn't for a second sound like a Radiohead disc. It lacks that epic quality that even the most intimate-sounding Radiohead disc produces. Instead, songs like the title track feel more like rainy day, alone-time music and "Analyze" benefits from an almost classical vibe. "The Eraser" is cohesive and coherent and far less experimental than one might expect. The result is clearly one of the best records of 2006 to date. It's due in shops on July 11 from XL Recordings.
Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.

He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.

With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.

He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.

In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.

He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.