Thom YorkeSimply uttering Thom Yorke’s name in a news release is often enough to make music bloggers and listeners the world over froth a little with excitement. But this latest news from the prolific Radiohead frontman is enough to incite hysterics.

Yorke has announced a supergroup side-project with Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which seems to be enough talent and spunk as is. But where there’s smoke, there’s fire, so where there’s Yorke, there’s Radiohead’s long-time producer Nigel Godrich. And heck, why not throw in Beck and R.E.M.’s drummer Joey Waronker? After all.

The project is yet unnamed, but the group took the stage this weekend in what Yorke called a “public rehearsal” at Los Angeles’ Echoplex for a blistering set of showmanship to a very lucky exclusive audience. The set was packed with the entirety of Yorke’s first solo effort, 2006’s The Eraser, flourishing under the care of his new backing band, according to Pitchfork’s Ian Cohen (lucky bastard). Yorke played four new songs solo, “Open the Floodgates”, “Lotus Flower”, “Skirting on the Surface”, and “Judge, Jury, Executioner” and then brought the band back for a few hits off Radiohead’s Com Lag EP as well as their new song, “Super Collider”.

The more drool-worthy material came when the ensemble dished out a serving of the tracks they’ve been working on. Tracks like “Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses” and “The Hollow Earth” (which is featured on the New Moon soundtrack) were given a more full treatment than any early MP3s can attest to, resulting in a sound Cohen called “Yorke’s typically melismatic melodies surrounded by scrapyard percussion.” Yum.

If you’re anything like the rest of the world and were unable to attend the show, you can still check out the videos from both nights on YouTube.






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