I had the good fortune of seeing Radiohead on May 17th, 2008 at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion during their tour for In Rainbows, their seventh studio album. The Brooklyn‑based group Liars opened the evening with a compelling performance that left a strong impression on the Houston audience. Yet it was Radiohead who transformed the night into something singular. Nearly nineteen years later, that hot summer evening remains vivid in my memory.
I now turn to Ed O’Brien’s latest release, Blue Morpho, his follow‑up to 2020’s Earth. Issued on the Transgressive label, the album began to take shape shortly after O’Brien released his debut, just as the COVID‑19 lockdown brought the world to a standstill six years ago.
Drawing inspiration from the Welsh countryside, the teachings of Wim “The Iceman” Hof, psychedelic experiences, and guidance from fellow Radiohead member Thom Yorke, O’Brien sought to push himself beyond the identity of “band member” and into a more expansive creative role. Spanning four years of development, from early 2022 to early 2024, the album unfolds like an imaginative film within the listener’s mind, inviting deeper exploration into the psychic unknown.
Blue Morpho blends electronic and folk elements with notable finesse. The opening track, ‘Incantations’ begins with an acoustic, train‑like rhythm that gradually gives way to electric instrumentation, building tension and texture as it progresses. The haunting title track features a string quartet arranged by the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and composed by Tõnu Kõrvits, evoking the sensation of entering a mystical forest where O’Brien searches for hope by looking forward rather than backward.
‘Sweet Spot’ introduces darker shades of English folk, drawing on the acid‑folk lineage of Trees, Comus, and Mellow Candle, with an imagined touch of Nick Drake’s Swaddling Songs‑era production sensibility. The album then returns to electronic territory with ‘Teachers’. Throughout, it becomes clear that O’Brien is not merely revisiting his Radiohead past; he is expanding upon it. His nods to Massive Attack evoke a futuristic film‑noir atmosphere, enriched by jazz‑inflected grooves and spiralling motifs reminiscent of the Berlin School of Music. At times, the work feels like a continuation of CAN’s explorations during the Future Days period, as though O’Brien is following a path Damo Suzuki left open for him.
‘Solfeggio’ and the flute improvisation on ‘Thin Places’ further highlight O’Brien’s admiration for krautrock, incorporating elements of Klaus Schulze, Kraftwerk, and French electronic composer Alain Pierre, known for scoring the 1974 short documentary film O Sidarta about Metal Hurlant’s cosmic illustrator Philippe Druillet. The album concludes with ‘Obrigado’ a reflective piece that subtly recalls the Kid A sessions, suggesting it might have fit naturally within that era.
The journey from dark, cavernous spaces toward the light underscores how far Ed O’Brien has evolved as an artist, carrying with him a sense of hope, curiosity, and creative momentum. Ultimately, Blue Morpho stands as a strong and imaginative follow‑up, offering a vivid and electrifying interpretation of modern folk‑electronic fusion.
