What is it like being the drummer of the most influential band of the last decade? Does Phil Selway prefer white wine or red wine? Has Phil Selway ever donned a pair of Doc Martins? Does Phil Selway have a pet penguin? Did he name it Phil? Has Phil Selway ever heard of Rogaine? Is that a portrait of Phil's family on the album cover, and if it is,why haven't they been quarantined? And perhaps the most important question in this very weakly written introduction, if Phil Selway made an album, and Thom Yorke wasn't around to be in it, would anyone want to hear his album at all?
The answer is yes, the album is very easy to listen too. Phil Selway's fragile melodies pierce through the music. The melodies duck underneath his gentle guitar, sift through the well placed violins, and break through the distant,but not too distant drums. Phil's voice is almost silky, it has a peaceful tone to it, a direct contrast itself to the work of Radiohead. The studio mastering of this album is top notch, and when the songs work on this album, they are incredibly successful. "By Some Miracle" is a melodic explosion, Its hook brilliant, the ghostly female singers at the end of the song bringing it to a thrilling conclusion. "A Simple Life" possibly the best song on the album, lets the momentum from its ingenious hook carry the song (in fact, my dear reader, the hooks been in my head for the last couple hours).
Unfortunately for Phil, when the hook doesn't work, neither does the song. "The Ties That Bind Us" mediocre hook makes the song simply annoying. "All Eyes On You" is wasted space, failing to make any impression, and "Broken Promises", while sweet and gentle doesn't deliver much else. In fact, the downfall of "Broken Promises" is the downfall of the whole album. There is no variety in the album, the songs are going to be melodic, the guitar is going to be soft, the violins are going to come in at the chorus, and when the song needs a burst of energy the drums will enter, hazy in the background. There is little here to differentiate Phil from any other musical act of his type, nor is there any way to even differentiate any songs apart from each other on the album.
The Ad for Phillip Selway's "Familial" describes his album as quiet, personal, acoustic music. And that is completely correct. But thats all that the album is. There is nothing risky, nothing surprising, and except for a few hooks, nothing exciting. The tragedy of this album is that for the very first time in history, an act associated with Radiohead has actually played it safe. And theres another word for safe in music.
Boring
2.5 out of 5.
