Philip Selway : Familial

<img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/philipselwayfamilial.jpg" alt=" " />Philip Selway is simply banking off his name and association with Radiohead for an album that is average at best. ...
5.0 Nonesuch
2010 

Philip Selway : Familial With the success of Thom Yorke’s recent solo album The Eraser and Johnny Greenwood’s soundtrack for There Will Be Blood (QRO review), it only makes sense that Radiohead (QRO album review) drummer Phil Selway would attempt to gather some of this success himself with his own solo debut, Familial.  Surprisingly, Selway chooses to leave the percussion completely behind, focusing instead on a strictly acoustic-oriented folk sound. 

"One, two, three, four," he whispers just before the lead-in to "By Some Miracle".  It’s a standard beginning to an opening song, but it’s the sullenness in the way that Selway says it that immediately sets the tone of the entire album.  There is an obvious focus on slowing and settling down, maturing beyond the early days of Radiohead.  However, that set mood never lets up, leading to mostly forgettable and sometimes boring tracks for the rest of the short half-hour runtime.  There should really be a highlight here on some of the standout aspects of the album, but they’re just not there.  This is more a record you would use as atmospheric background noise while you’re stuck indoors on a rainy day rather than one you’d want to just sit down and listen to.

While attempting to step outside his norm with this debut is certainly admirable, one can’t help but think how unnecessary this album actually is.  This is the latest solo debut from a member of Radiohead.  Selway could have recorded an untouchable polka album, and fans would still buy it.

Getting noticed in the world of folk is understandably difficult.  You’ve got to have memorable melodies, and, more importantly, you need a memorable voice.  You’re either born with it, or you’re not.  Without much else to back you up, you have to find a way to make your melodies and vocals alone shine above the competition.  At a time when similar big, Nick Drake-esque acts such as Iron & Wine and José González rule, it’s unfortunate that Selway doesn’t quite make the cut.  Familial is really not a bad album.  It’s just that, when considering how many better-quality folk albums have been done before, Philip Selway is simply banking off his name and association with Radiohead for an album that is average at best.

MP3 Stream: "Falling"

{audio}mp3/files/Philip Selway – Falling.mp3{/audio}

 

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