Philip Selway "Familial"

Purchased this album based on the two contributions he had on the tremendous 7 Worlds Collide project from a year ago.  If you are a Radiohead fan, you know who Philip Selway is and you will probably appreciate this recording.  I own Kid A, I think, but that's it for me.  Always a bit too pompous and self absorbed for my tastes, and hey, they are worldwide stars and don't need my approval!

For this solo effort, the drummer steps out to the front with ten self-penned tracks clocking in at 33 minutes, adding acoustic guitar to his repertoire.  He sings in a fragile, soft voice set in a very acoustic setting, surrounded with all the subtle ambient tricks that his band employs.  It's an extremely low-key recording that needs to be absorbed, so a group setting is out of the question, unless, of course, you're all zoned out on your favorite mind-altering substance.  The two tracks from the 7WC album, “The Ties That Bind Us” and “The Witching Hour,” aren't as full and rich sounding here as they were with Neil Finn and company, even though some of the same participants joined in on these versions.  I started to link to a video of "The Witching Hour" live with Mr. Finn on the keyboard but that wouldn't be very fair to this record, so here is a track recorded live at the BBC studios a couple of months ago.  It's nice...pleasant, even, but in my ear it's preaching to the Radiohead choir.