Send "Philip Selway " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 Whatever your opinion on the relative merits of Philip Selway's transmogrification into an acoustic guitar-strumming singer-songwriter, it's tough to find an angle that doesn't at least give the guy points for bravery. Firstly, he's spent 25 years in the ruthlessly self-correcting Radiohead, a band who tend not to go more than three records without ritually wringing themselves inside out and emerging from the studio, eyes bulging and ears ringing, with some newly invented sonic paradigm. Secondly, said band also includes Thom Yorke, whose own noted songwriting abilities and singing voice have by now gifted him with an unreasonably long shadow. Thirdly, Selway's a frigging drummer. In an arena rock band. And when was the last time any drummer in any rock band (much less arguably the world's biggest) put his drumsticks down to write some Nick Drakesian songs about family?Make no mistake: This is a risk. A risk of exposure, credibility, mystique, whatever you want to call it, and Selway deserves credit for putting his newly elongated name on the line. The good(ish) news is that Familial is hardly an embarrassment. It's a modest, mannered record that prizes directness, simplicity and bittersweet sentiment above all, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. The highlights, such as they are, are front-loaded. With its delicately hooky chorus, lead single "By Some Miracle" is probably the most immediate thing here. Elsewhere, a cleverly syncopated vocal loop in "Beyond Reason" evokes some of Radiohead's sonic trickery, while "All Eyes on You" offers up an oddly naked account of Yorke's stage fright: "So frail and small/ So scared you're terrified by all/ The eyes on you." The bad news is that Selway's material, tasteful and expertly played as it is, never fully transcends the novelty of who it's coming from. That two of the three highlights contain Radiohead callbacks should tell you something about the rest of the record. Even though Selway acquits himself as a capable an d likable enough frontman, a lot of the material, especially on the second side, is ultimately just too bare, too slow, and too earnest to connect. For every one line that hits, there are two that shouldn't have made it out of first revisions. On "A Simple Life", the crowds pour out "on a cold, cold night." On "Patron Saint", Selway's played for a fool by "a web of lies and compromise." Such overtly earnest lyrics aren't helped by the unwavering politeness in his delivery, which, in being pretty-sounding but not much else, create a clear path for the clichés to land with a dull thud....full text |
| Bbc |
| Guaranteed worldwide coverage because of his day job as Radiohead’s drummer and signed to Bella Union, a UK indie label currently at the top of its game, Phil Selway is in an enviable position. It’s hard not to wonder what his fate might be were he not part of one of the world’s most successful rock bands, however. Singer-songwriters serving up softly spoken whimsy aren’t exactly in short supply, after all, and Familial certainly breaks few boundaries. In fact, even the most fervent of Radiohead fans might lack the patience to get excited about this humble collection. But therein lies its charm. Distancing himself from the oblique lyrical tendencies favoured by Thom Yorke as much as Radiohead’s complex approach to alternative, occasionally experimental rock, Selway here restricts himself mainly to acoustic guitars, barely perceptible rhythm tracks and whispered sincerity. Indeed, the most striking aspect of its production is his modesty: rather than gathering together famous friends he turned to Lisa Germano, an artist whose profile has dwindled so far since her 1994 4AD debut that she barely qualifies for cult status, and Wilco’s Glenn Kotche and Pat Sansone. Instead of Nigel Godrich’s expansive studio techniques he hired engineer Ian Davenport and recorded in his management company’s studios, and forsaking oblique angst at the world’s injustices, he writes as a man in his mid-40s about, as the title suggests, domestic matters, inspired by the 2006 death of his mother. Consequently Familial initially seems timid, even half-hearted, but persistence reveals an album full of sweet sentiment and honest meditations. Opener By Some Miracle dwells in hushed tones on the familiar artistic problem of depression, The Ties That Bind Us is full of references to “the family man” and his desire to “shield” his son “from my mistakes”, and Broken Promises addresses the loss of his mother in universal, touching terms. Whether this understated, almost folksy collection is easily distinguished from the endless stream of sensitive types pouring out their hearts onto tape, however, is hard to say. But Don’t Look Down, with its subtle background drone, is soothing as chamomile tea, and A Simple Life boasts a startling, haunting brass arrangement. If Selway’s fame can help encourage people to explore the more refined subtleties of music like this he’s served himself and his fellow songwriters well....full text |
| Independent |
| Drummer goes solo: always a situation fraught with danger, but thankfully Radiohead's Philip Selway leans more towards the Robert Wyatt end of the spectrum on this debut collection of 10 songs prompted by the death of his mother. The various emotional responses triggered by loss are etched here in settings which bring to mind the quieter moments of Talk Talk and Radiohead: acoustic guitar, cello and glitchy loops mark out the surmounting of depression in "By Some Miracle", while double bass and guitar sketch Tim Buckley-esque folk-jazz figures as Selway tells his son "I want to shield you from my mistakes" in "The Ties That Bind Us". Even when horns blossom at the end of a track the surface mood is still contemplative and intimate, while the emotional turmoil wrestles below....full text |
Philip Selway lyrics
|
| ||||||||||
