Philip Selway - Familial

It must happen to all drummers. They hit their mid-thirties and - tired of being stuck at the back of the stage keeping a beat while band-mates whack out sexy guitar solos and killer choruses - contemplate releasing those solo efforts that have been gathering dust in the attic.

And so we have Familial, a bunch of songs from a man better known for being the guy who bashes the skins for an English band you might have heard of called Radiohead. Far from a vanity project though, Familial is a modest and unpretentious record in which Selway plays down his position as a member of one of the world’s biggest bands. There are certainly no unit-shifting guest vocals from Mr. Yorke, but just a rather sombre collection of gentle, understated acoustic songs delivered in Selway’s hushed tones. The only clear trace of Radiohead’s influence is the scratchy loop and slightly Yorke-like delivery of Beyond Reason. Otherwise, Familial consists of tender folk which deals with subjects such as depression and, on Broken Promises, the death of his mother, “Once the hurt has faded/Only the love will remain.” Pleasant enough as his voice is though, Selway isn’t an astonishing vocalist, and God knows there are already a plethora of earnest singer/songwriters out there.

So, there are two ways of looking at Familial. Either it is an album not remarkable or groundbreaking enough to garner such attention were it not for the status of its author, or it is a surprising and therefore faintly pleasing diversion from an unexpected source. The truth lies pretty much exactly twixt the two.