ALBUM REVIEW: Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke - Tall Tales

Review by Nigel Jones

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke collaborates with Yeovil-born musician Mark Pritchard for full-length LP “Tall Tales”, having previously worked together briefly on a track from Pritchard’s 2016 album “Under the Sun.”

“Tall Tales” a brooding record—moody and dark, yet engaging. Melodies, electronic beats, and vintage-esque keyboards caress the songs to create an atmospheric constant almost throughout, with Yorke’s vocals (which are as stunning as ever) only adding to the mystery and beauty of the album. It’s ambient whilst textured and layered beautifully. ‘The White Cliffs’ is possibly the highlight for me—at more than eight minutes long, its simple shuffling electronic beat and Yorke’s falsetto are backed with very Radiohead-like haunting backing vocals and arpeggios. It shuffles along delightfully and really is quite beautiful.

‘Gangsters’ has an arcade feel in its vintage-sounding keyboards/synths; it instantly reminded me of Swedish electronic pop duo ‘The Knife’, famous for their superb underground hit ‘Heartbeats’ back in 2002.

‘Happy Days’ has a circus feel to it while still keeping to the dark and moody theme. It loops over the course of four minutes with its regimented drums and oom-pah piano—it works very well. Some of the spoken words reminded me of ‘The Pet Shop Boys’—an unlikely comparison, but a “you have to hear it to believe it” kind of thing!

‘The Men Who Dance in Stag’s Heads’ immediately had a Velvet Underground feel to it, or even early ‘Primal Scream’. It’s quite a delightful song—not an electronic beat in sight—just a simple kick and tambourine, accompanied by an organ and shared vocal duties. It just glides along, and its simplicity should not be underestimated. As the penultimate track on the album, it’s almost like a comedown after the more complex songs that come before it.

Closing track ‘Wandering Genie’ is a layered, synth-heavy soundscape—a hypnotic, close-your-eyes-and-drift-away kind of song. A fitting end. Once again, no electronic beats—no percussion at all, actually—just a chorus of keys and Yorke’s haunting vocals.

“Tall Tales” is great end to a quite fantastic album—closer to a Radiohead album than anything by The Smile. Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke clearly have great chemistry, creative understanding, and are perfect music collaborators.