Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke : Tall Tales

Thom Yorke is not afraid to get out of his comfort zone, as well as his fans’ comfort zones. There’s still that small group of folks that never got over Radiohead getting into proggy, concept album territory with the masterpiece OK Computer. The fans disappointed when their favorite band from 30 years ago doesn’t trot out “Creep” for the encore. And once Kid A arrived it was like Radiohead was erased from existence by their toe-headed singer and bandleader, instead trading in their cred for electronic music noodling.

There’s still people to this day that resent Yorke for the band’s penchant for reinvention, despite the fact that ALL of Radiohead were pretty onboard with the sonic shifts. And his solo electronic albums allowed the rest of the band to do their own things as well, even if that thing was enjoying a cuppa tea looking over the Isle of Wight.

Thom Yorke’s predilection for dance music and knob twirling has given us some great collaborations between Yorke and Four Tet, Flying Lotus, Burial, and more. As well as an amazing one-off album as Atoms For Peace and three amazing solo records. His latest collaboration is with the experimental electronic producer Mark Pritchard. Pritchard and Yorke collaborated years ago in one of Pritchard’s side projects Global Communication, a project he was in with Tom Middleton. Tall Tales isn’t as weird as those “Creep” super fans would have you believe, but it’s not as easily accessible as something like The Eraser. It has more in common with something like Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, or Swedish electronic artist The Knife. But as with Yorke’s best work, Tall Tales is a grower.

Mark Pritchard is a solid producer, and he builds lush tracks for Yorke to layer vocals over. These aren’t sparse songs, as they are built for clout and wowing one’s ears. They’re a headphone smorgasbord, revealing new bits with each listen. One of the many standouts here is opener “A Fake In A Faker’s World”, built on ominous tones and darkly-lit melodies. Thom Yorke lays out withering vocals over a sonic chasm miles wide. Another stunner is single “Back In The Game” with its humming, rhythmic synth line and Yorke’s almost taunting vocals. There’s an almost melancholy feel to the song, sounds and effects coloring the track in shaded hues. “This Conversation Is Missing Your Voice” is another stunner, produced like an early 80s dance track and Thom Yorke giving it all a gravitas.

There’s oddballs like title track “Tall Tales”, as well as wonky electro tracks like “Gangsters”. And you can’t help but here touches of Radiohead in the gorgeous track “The White Cliffs”. And “The Men Who Dance In Stag’s Heads” is epic in sound like some lost Spiritualized track.

With time and repeated listens Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke’s Tall Tales will be regarded as high art, and one of the best albums of 2025. And with some time in-between its release and some introspective listening I think this will be seen as a shining spot in Thom Yorke and Mark Pritchard’s overall discography.