Album Review: Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke - 'Tall Tales'

The Short of It

Although collaboration between Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke is nothing new, Tall Tales is where their creative synergy truly “Bloom[s]”. (Get it; Pritchard remixed “Bloom” for TKOLRMX1234567. Okay. I guess you had to be there.)  Drawing from influences like dub, krautrock, and 70s synth, Pritchard’s mastery of electronic music provides a disorienting and textured backdrop for Yorke’s vocals as he explores themes of modern anxiety and introspection. With its blend of electronic innovation and haunting vocals, they enlisted Jonathan Zawada to create a complementary film full of visuals that will surely delve into the psyche unlike anything audiences have ever experienced.

My Thoughts

From the opening track to “Wandering Genie,” the Tall Tales collaboration between Yorke and Pritchard plays like the soundtrack to a distorted, disorienting, time-jumping surrealist film where the protagonist loses their grasp on the reality they once knew. Rationale and reason no longer exist. Each musician pushes to the edge of their musical expertise to tell the protagonist’s Tall Tales. Each challenges the other to pull from the well, the core of brilliance.

Possibly a lyrical masterpiece for Yorke, the album evokes the emotions that have accumulated in his conflicted mind. And “A Fake in a Faker’s World” sets the tone as Pritchard presents an atmosphere in which Yorke can comfortably exist, one that fans will feel familiar with. Listen to the ticking, driving rhythm of “Back in the Game,” the pulses of an overstimulated mind. Eerily reminiscent of Anima and Suspiria, the songs of Tall Tales delve deeper than Yorke has ever allowed himself to go. Simply put, Pritchard opens a portal to hell and challenges Yorke to step through. The tortured artist cannot resist. It offers an opportunity at immortality; the individual attempts to separate from the overwhelming entity encompassing his name. Never has nostalgia felt so distant, cold, yet simultaneously comforting. “Every now and then/The face that keeps changing/Every now and then.”

Final Thought: I really do like this album, but I have a conflicted mind. I need him to say he disagrees with genocide and the murder and starvation of thousands of children. Please, Thom Yorke. I used to believe in you.

Favorite Songs: “Back in the Game,” “The White Cliffs,” and “This Conversation is Missing Your Voice.”

Rating - 5/5 (because I do believe it is a masterpiece but . . . )