Thom Yorke has released his third solo album, ANIMA, accompanied by a Paul Thomas Anderson directed short of the same name. The 15-minute film features three tracks from Yorke’s self-described “dystopian” record, “Not the News,” “Traffic,” and “Dawn Chorus,” and follows the artist on a nightmarish subway journey that takes him into an alternate reality.
In the short, Yorke finds himself in a dimly-lit train carriage full of semi-conscious commuters who all spontaneously burst into a sleepy dance choreographed by Damien Jalet, who worked on Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 Suspiria adaptation (which was scored by Yorke). When Yorke finds he can’t leave the station he leaps over a ticket barrier into another dimension, where he finds more ghostly figures dancing in formation.
The Radiohead frontman is joined by long-time collaborator Nigel Godrich on the record, being hailed as his most complete offering without the backing of his band. Following the teasing of the record on mysterious mock advertising boards on the tube, Yorke tweeted today: “finally ANIMA... third solo record is out, made by myself and Nigel Godrich”
Stream ANIMA in full here and watch the Paul Thomas Anderson short in full on Netflix here.