Philip Selway: Weatherhouse

Ryan Reed on October 24, 2014

For the past two decades, Philip Selway has added muscle and groove to Radiohead’s sprawling artrock. But he’s showcasing his more ruminative side as a solo artist—first with his 2010 debut, the low-key Familial, and now with Weatherhouse, a slightly more experimental follow-up. Like its predecessor, Weatherhouse finds Selway out front, strumming and singing plainspoken melodies. But unlike the rainy-day Familial, which grew monotonous with its quiet acoustics and mild electronic flourishes, this new LP actually veers in some unique directions, aided by the colorful arrangements from multi-instrumentalists Quinta and Adem Ilhan. “Drawn to the Light” is a menacing swirl, incorporating distended string sighs and spacey marimbas; “Around Again” blends jazzy keyboards with layers of polyrhythmic percussion; but opener “Coming Up for Air” is the album’s shimmering centerpiece, with Selway’s distorted croon ricocheting off dubby synth wobbles and oceanic guitar pings. On Familial, Selway sounded tentative—here, he sounds reinvigorated.

Artist: Philip Selway
Album: Weatherhouse
Label: Bella Union