Thom Yorke’s 5 Best Moments Outside of Radiohead

Thom Yorke recently composed the soundtrack to the 2024 Italian film Confidenza. He released the score on April 26 through XL Recordings and announced a solo tour to accompany the album.

“In the autumn in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and Japan, I will be alone on stage trying a new kind of solo show thing, playing versions of the songs I have written from my recent and not-so-recent past,” he said on Radiohead’s website.

Here’s a look at Yorke’s best moments outside of Radiohead. The list below focuses only on his projects. It does not include Yorke’s collaborations with Björk, PJ Harvey, and UNKLE—though those would be fine additions to your Thom Yorke (Somewhat) Alone Playlist.

“Dawn Chorus” by Thom Yorke

New Zealand radio DJ Zane Lowe interviewed Yorke for the release of ANIMA in 2019. When describing how “Dawn Chorus” made him feel, Lowe revealed he was driving in his car, weeping. It’s an accurate description of the song. “Dawn Chorus” may be one of Yorke’s most emotionally potent tracks. It’s bolstered by an ominous, pulsing drone-synth that perfectly captures the malaise of daily life.

Back up the cul-de-sac
Come on, do your worst
You’ve quit your job again
And your train of thought
If you could do it all again
A little fairy dust
Thousand tiny birds singing
If you must, you must

“FeelingPulledApartByHorses” by Thom Yorke

In 2001, Radiohead performed an early version of “Reckoner,” which appeared in a different form on their 2007 album In Rainbows. Yorke and Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood reworked the proto version, and “Reckoner” became “FeelingPulledApartByHorses.” The track—driven by a menacing bass line and glitchy drums—was released as a dual single with “TheHollowEarth” in 2009.

Feeling pulled apart by horses
Insect bites, machine gun cameras
Fobbed off with lame sh-te excuses

“Bending Hectic” by The Smile

Jazz drummer Tom Skinner formed The Smile with Yorke and Greenwood in 2020. Frustrated by Radiohead’s unhurried pace of releasing new music, Greenwood was sitting on a pile of riffs that formed the basis for The Smile’s debut album A Light for Attracting Attention (2022). “Bending Hectic” is an eight-minute slow burner from The Smile’s second album Wall of Eyes. It opens with Greenwood’s virtuosic arpeggios. Over Skinner’s scattered beat, Yorke describes driving off an Italian cliff before the track unleashes into a furious fuzz reminiscent of Japan’s art-metal band Boris.  

We’re coming to a bend now
Skidding ’round the hairpin
A sheer drop-down
The Italian mountainside

“The Smoke” by The Smile

Operating outside of a stadium band like Radiohead isn’t an easy task. There’s no way for everything you do not to be judged against OK Computer, Kid A, or In Rainbows. What to do when you and your mates reinvent the sound of a rock band? The Smile, by far, is the best Radiohead “side project.” If Yorke and Greenwood had released A Light for Attracting Attention as a Radiohead album, it would have stood firmly within their catalog. “The Smoke” is fused with dub reverb, orchestral winds, and Yorke’s snaking bass line. The synthesis of Yorke’s tender falsetto and punk snarl is one of his most enduring qualities.

It’s easy to leave me
We should give ourselves another chance
Let go of our troubles
Into our caress
Our caress

“Black Swan” by Thom Yorke

Following Hail to the Thief, Radiohead left EMI and self-released In Rainbows as a pay-what-you-want download in 2007. In between those albums, Yorke made The Eraser. It sounds like an intimate peek inside the disparate electronic pieces Yorke might present to his band. He was curious to work alone for the first time since Radiohead formed while its members were school-aged. With the help of producer Nigel Godrich, Yorke collaged samples he’d created while on tour with Radiohead. Godrich pulled out passages that became the framework for songs. “Black Swan” could have originated during the Amnesiac sessions. It fuses the guitars of American indie rock with the disjointed electronica of Aphex Twin.

What will grow crooked, you can’t make straight
It’s the price that you gotta pay
Do yourself a favor and pack your bags
Buy a ticket and get on the train
Buy a ticket and get on the train

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