ED O’BRIEN

Blue Morpho (Transgressive)

Radiohead may be renowned for their inscrutability, but the symbolism of the title of guitarist Ed O’Brien’s new solo album is blindingly obvious. Named after a dazzlingly brightly coloured butterfly, the record is the result of a lengthy and complex gestation process, signifies personal metamorphosis and rebirth, and marks an emergence from the shadow of bandmates Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood.

The opening pair of songs in particular betray O’Brien’s day job: Incantations’ narrative of desired escape and emotional numbness circling and building steadily from humble acoustic beginnings to high drama and wordless wails, and the elegantly immersive title track infused with birdsong and elevated by Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits’ majestic string arrangements.

Elsewhere, outlier Teachers cuts loose with funk and guitar solo, and Solfeggio and Thin Places deliver suffocating atmospherics, before Obrigado’s sunshiny Latin vibe clouds over as it coagulates to reflective prog pace.

words BEN WOOLHEAD