Singles Spotlight:
Ed O’Brien – “Incantations”

Hello reader,

How are you today?

I’m excited to discuss another guitarist and songwriter making some great music on his own: Ed O’Brien. While the Rock N Roll HOF’er is best known as being the Radiohead guitarist and ambient effects maker (using distortion, pitch shifters, delays, and more) since the bands’ founding in their teenage years as On a Friday (1985-1987) before the group resumed performing four years later and changed their name to Radiohead in 1991. Rolling Stone Magazine’s 2023 version of the greatest guitarists said the following about O’Brien, “You might not be able to name his best solo, but it’s impossible to imagine Radiohead without him.”

And in a 2020 interview with The Face about his role in Radiohead, O’Brien said, “I’ve always been like his older brother … I always say that he was like the dad of the band, and I’m the mum. My job was to always put my arm around him, and his job was to be Thom.” Many have thoughts about Radiohead, whether they like certain periods of the band’s discography and sound more than others, or maybe they are indifferent to the band as a whole, but there’s something to be said for a group of musicians that’s been active for more than four decades.

In 2020, after years of songwriting and crafting non-Radiohead-sounding songs, O’Brien combined nine songs that he started working on in 2012 on his debut solo album, Earth, under his initials EOB. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 (the album was released in April 2020), a full tour was canceled, but the album, which featured elements of alternative rock, bossa nova, dance-rock, post-Britpop, punk funk, and tropical dance, received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Check it out for yourself and see what you think.

Discussing someone who has been an artist and musician for decades, and you realize that the quotes from their process will not only be thoughtful but also insightful. To the point, we at SWT cannot skip past them. Shedding some reflective light on O’Brien after that period via the press release for his newest album release, Blue Morpho, “In April 2020, after releasing his solo debut, Earth, under his initials, O’Brien almost immediately regretted waiting nearly a decade to record those songs while balancing his schedule with Radiohead. Some of its impulses had been lost in the gap, and there was only so much he could do to support it as the world confronted catastrophe. Later that year, O’Brien entered the deepest depression of his life. Encouraged by his wife to sit in the fire of his emotions, he began a daily ritual, immersing himself in the breathing and cold-exposure teachings of Wim Hof, then retreating into his small London studio, playing guitar for hours until his brain began to fray. There were no directions or preconceptions; O’Brien was simply using his instrument to navigate 50 years of emotional trauma and turmoil that had finally rushed to the surface. Years ago, when O’Brien began writing songs, Thom Yorke had told him a secret key to the craft was being a good librarian – cataloguing ideas when they happened to find and revisit later. As O’Brien played now through his past, his spiritual connection to nature in the Welsh countryside, and his beliefs in the possibility of healing, he kept a record of what he was making. Over the next four years, those moments evolved into Blue Morpho, his first album fully detached from past regrets.”

The press release continues as O’Brien moves toward the crafting of Blue Morpho, “O’Brien likes to quote the Kentucky poet and farmer Wendell Berry: ‘To know the dark, go dark.’ That philosophy became both compass and catalyst for Blue Morpho – a deeply personal album produced by Paul Epworth (Paul McCartney, Adele), born from one of the most challenging periods of his life. Though he remains one of rock music’s most lauded guitarists, Blue Morpho finds O’Brien beginning anew, finally starting to figure out his approach. With its moments of hypnotic psych-folk, radiant guitars, beguiling trip-hop, and luminous stillness, it reveals an artist moving beyond familiar structures and feels like a map of O’Brien navigating exciting other ways to listen, work, and live. He steps into the dark, and emerges renewed, evident on the stunning and uplifting “Blue Morpho,” inspired by the healing effects of nature.”

In my opinion, one of the best songs on Blue Morpho, which is out Friday, May 22nd via the fabulous London-based indie label Transgressive Records, is “Incantations.” I’m so excited to share it with you, as this 7-minute song will breeze by and serve as a great introduction to Ed O’Brien’s fantastic solo artistry. Don’t get scared by the length of the song. Exhale, sit down, or lie in a peaceful, safe space, and see where the music takes you. You can trust in SWT and me. And Ed O’Brien. You’ll dig the melody, from its opening notes as it builds to its pacing, and when and how it shifts as it becomes multiple sub-genres into a trance and trip heavy moments, you may be transported to different decades of music and different regions of the world. You’ll also love O’Brien’s vocals, whether they are delivered in a normal tone and style or when the title is chanted, and the songcraft as other musicians join in. Gorgeous guitar and drum work by Dave Okumu. You may find yourself wanting a longer version. And/or to hear the rest of the album. This is, after all, the tone-setter for the album, serving as its opening track. Check out “Incantations” for yourself and see what you think.

The video for the unforgettable song, “Incantations,” from Ed O’Brien’s YouTube channel:

(All credits and rights to Ed O’Brien)

The cover art for Blue Morpho:

The track list for Blue Morpho:

1. Incantations
2. Blue Morpho
3. Sweet Spot
4. Teachers
5. Solfeggio
6. Thin Places
7. Obrigado

There is a Blue Morpho: The Three Act Play short film as well. Here’s the trailer for it:

Alex M Theel

Co-Founder, Reviewer, Content Creator, Business side, Editor at Scummy Water Tower Productions | Web

Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site, scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions and SWT Interviews. And all of our socials.
Questions, feedback, or more? Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com