Philip Selway followed in the footsteps of
Radiohead bandmates
Thom Yorke and
Jonny Greenwood by releasing a solo album,
Familial, in 2010. Previously known for his drumming, drum programming, and occasional background vocals, Selway slipped easily into songwriting mode while also switching to guitar. The groundwork for his solo album came with his participation in
Neil Finn's 2001 all-star concerts, dubbed 7 Worlds Collide. 7 Worlds Collide later took the shape of a group and released an album, The Sun Came Out, in 2009. In addition to playing percussion and acoustic guitar, Selway provided a pair of hushed, folk-tinged songs -- "The Ties That Bind Us" and "The Witching Hour" -- and sang lead on them. Re-recordings of these two songs formed the basis of
Familial. The album involved assistance from 7 Worlds Collide associates
Lisa Germano,
Soul Coughing's
Sebastian Steinberg, and
Wilco's
Glenn Kotche and
Jeff Tweedy. It was released in August 2010 through
Bella Union in the U.K. and Nonesuch in the U.S. Selway's sophomore effort,
Weatherhouse, followed in 2014. More complex and involving than his mostly acoustic debut, with a broader instrumental palette, it had something of the feel of latter-day
Radiohead or
Yorke's solo work but with an uncategorizable '80s/'90s melodic twist.
Following the 2016 release of
Radiohead's
A Moon Shaped Pool, Selway turned his attention to scoring the Polly Steele film Let Me Go. The soundtrack arrived in October 2017. ~ Andy Kellman