Familial

Whatever your opinion on the relative merits of Philip Selway's transmogrification into an acoustic guitar-strumming singer-songwriter, it's tough to find an angle that doesn't at least give the guy points for bravery. Firstly, he's spent 25 years in the ruthlessly self-correcting Radiohead, a band who tend not to go more than three records without ritually wringing themselves inside out and emerging from the studio, eyes bulging and ears ringing, with some newly invented sonic paradigm. Secondly, said band also includes Thom Yorke, whose own noted songwriting abilities and singing voice have by now gifted him with an unreasonably long shadow. Thirdly, Selway's a frigging drummer. In an arena rock band. And when was the last time any drummer in any rock band (much less arguably the world's biggest) put his drumsticks down to write some Nick Drakesian songs about family?

In the long-established career of Radiohead, the Oxford group's members have also dabbled in collaborations and solo output. Jonny Greenwood has had perhaps the most critically acclaimed and rewarding time of it, composing film soundtracks (including his outstanding award-winning score for the equally outstanding opus There Will Be Blood), while Thom Yorke released The Eraser in 2006, which allowed him to pay tribute to all things related to the Warp back catalogue in an album based around beats and synths.

I’ll start with the obligatory observation “good lord! A drummer with a solo project? That. Is. Mad.” It’s true that the percussionist in a band is usually the last you’d expect to put out a solo effort, but surprising moves are hardly a new gambit for Radiohead, who can, on account of being essentially the biggest band in world, do as they please. With the sterling output of Thom Yorke’s The Eraser and Jonny Greenwood’s various superb soundtracks and concert pieces, Selway has an obscene lot to live up to, and, hardly astonishingly, he does not. By a long shot.

In all-too frequent reminders, fans of Radiohead have had to confront the varied interests of each member outside of the peculiar yet familiar entity. But who does Philip Selway think he is, and why has he convinced himself he’s up to the task of tackling genres and sounds more foreign to his immediate craft?

Phil Selway has put himself on the line with the release of Familial, not least because this first solo effort comes after playing in one of the world's biggest bands for the majority of his life. Living in the shadow of more dominating creative forces must be intimidating and is probably the reason it has taken him this long to strike out on his own. It can't be easy to begin a project knowing it will ultimately be compared to The Eraser or the There Will Be Blood soundtrack, however arbitrary or unfair those comparisons are.