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Rating: Genre: acoustic pop
With only two albums to their name (followed by a collection of unreleased tracks and b-sides, paired in a double CD with a live album), the Unbelievable Truth of the younger Yorke (the older brother Thom is the singer of the much better-known Radiohead) are the bearers of a brief yet intense musical career.
Both albums are imperfect, almost too simple in their lyrics, chords, and arrangements, one might say, if it weren't for the fact that often, hidden in the simplest things, small pearls of shimmering beauty are to be found.
“Angel”, “Stone”, “Finest Little Space,” the (relatively) better-known “Higher Than Reason,” all appearing in their debut album (the one this review focuses on) are songs marked by a sadness never too ostentatious (perhaps it's a “vice” of the family), and that, probably, would already, in themselves, elevate any acoustic pop CD (and not only), not to mention the other tracks that are anything but substandard. Yet, it is right at the end, almost as a reward for those who were willing/able to listen, that the discreet “Be Ready” shines, as an invitation to reconsider and perhaps listen again with more attention to this album, leaving the impression that perhaps not everything has been said or revealed.
Besides the collection, only one other album would follow, also more than good, with a title almost foretelling the farewell the band would soon give to the music world: “Sorrythankyou”...
Then the singer Andy, probably tired of the constant comparisons between his career and that of his much more successful brother (after all, the first two EPs by Unbelievable Truth that preceded “Almost Here” are contemporaneous with “Ok Computer,” while “Sorrythankyou” is with “Kid A,” comparisons truly difficult to withstand) decided it was time to dissolve the group, leaving us thus with only a handful of songs, the seeds of a band that could have, who knows, also been great if they had not (perhaps) been crushed by so many, too many expectations.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
09 Almost Here (04:09)
When I was alone,
I felt so cold,
it's hard to keep from shaking.
I found someone and I couldn't move.
I couldn't breathe.
And you try to tell me
that we're almost here.
That we've almost made it.
How can I be somebody new,
When I see my own reflection?
And you try to tell me
that we've almost made it.
That we're almost here.
How can I be somebody new,
when I see my own reflection?
10 Higher Than Reason (04:01)
The shrine is located
in the front room of the house.
For some unknown reason
it's been neglected for too long.
You claim it's not a problem,
but I take it all so hard.
So when is it a problem
if you push it all so far?
Higher than reason
higher than reason
is nowhere.
Higher than reason
higher than reason
is nowhere.
My soul is defended
by the will to stay alive.
For some unknown reason
I can't keep that will for long.
It all needs rebuilding.
And my hands are scratched and scarred.
So when is it a problem
if I take it all so hard?
Higher than reason
higher than reason
is nowhere.
Higher than reason
is no reason
is nowhere.
Higher than reason
higher than reason
is nowhere.
If you lived here in my place,
would you eat off my plate?
Or throw it aside,
and curse your ugly fate?
Higher than reason
higher than reason
is nowhere.
Higher than reason
higher than reason
is nowhere.
Higher than reason
higher than reason
is nowhere.
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