Tall Tales (Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke album)

In 2011, Pritchard created two remixes of "Bloom" for the remix album TKOL RMX 1234567 by Yorke's band Radiohead. In 2012, when Radiohead played in Sydney, Pritchard was introduced to the band by their touring drummer, Clive Deamer. After Pritchard invited Yorke to collaborate, Yorke sang on "Beautiful People", a single from Pritchard's 2016 album Under the Sun. In 2019, Pritchard remixed "Not the News" from Yorke's album Anima. == Recording ==

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Yorke emailed Pritchard asking him to send him music to work on at home. Pritchard sent around 20 demos, and Yorke began to write lyrics. Later, Yorke began sending demos with his vocals back to Pritchard. Pritchard and Yorke continued to send work back and forth, editing songs down and modifying them. Pritchard said he enjoyed working with Yorke, as he also played synthesisers, edited tracks and added effects. Pritchard searched for obscure synthesisers, swapping with friends and using Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio. He used Vintage Keys, a recording studio in Hampshire, to source 1950s and 60s valve synthesisers. He used preset drum patterns, enjoying "being stuck with a pattern that is sometimes borderline cheesy". == Music and lyrics ==

Tall Tales comprises electronic, He would manipulate his vocals and process them with different effects. Yorke said he liked "mangling" his voice to bring out "different identities" for the lyrics, using effects such as pitch-shifting and transposition. On "Gangsters", Yorke alternated between low and high pitches to give the illusion of multiple singers. On "Wandering Genie", he layered his voice and modulated it. Rolling Stone called his vocals "hauntingly opaque and ensnaringly eerie". Several critics noted the experimental nature. The Independent called it a "strange alien synthscape", while Clash called it "sometimes otherworldly, frequently tongue-in-cheek, and occasionally surprisingly punchy". Andy Kellman of AllMusic said it took influences from Kraftwerk, Cluster, Martin Hannett, Chris & Cosey and Andy Stott. Kellman also said Tall Tales was made up of "eerie drones, misshapen voices, and other atmospheric elements abound". "A Fake in a Faker's World" contains a rhythmic synthesiser beat and processed vocals. Yorke added modular synthesisers. "Ice Shelf" is a dark, ambient song. "Bugging Out Again" has a haunting falsetto over a slow keyboard soundscape. "Back in the Game" is an "electro-goth" song with "mature and declamatory" vocals. "The White Cliffs" is a minimalist and "wintry" song with a basic drum machine pattern; one critic likened it to Air's Moon Safari. "The Spirit" uses strings and trombone and was likened to Coldplay. "Gangsters" is a new wave song with electronic rhythms and synthesisers. "This Conversation is Missing Your Voice" is a more coherent R&B track with syncopated handclaps and a stuttering vocal effect. "Tall Tales" is a darker song with layered vocoder-processed spoken words. "Happy Days" has a repetitive marching rhythm and "lightly bouncing vocals". "The Men Who Dance in Stag's Heads" is a "medieval folk ballad" that uses muted drums, tambourine and the harmonium. The closing track, "Wandering Genie", is a dark ambient track with the line "I am falling" repeated throughout. == Artwork and film ==

The artwork for Tall Tales was created by Jonathan Zawada, who was described as a "third member of the group" in a press release. They collaborated on several projects before Tall Tales. It saw one-night cinema screenings across the world on 8 May. Zawada wanted the film to support the music while not "taking over it too much or being entirely secondary to it". == Release ==

Yorke debuted "Back in the Game" during his 2024 Everything tour. He and Pritchard posted a clip of the song on Instagram on 7 February 2025. It was released as the first single on 13 February, alongside a music video from Zawada. On 26 March, venues and details about the film were shared. followed by "The Spirit" on 8 May. The film was shown on 8 May. On 16 May, Yorke and Pritchard announced a global scavenger hunt, with 400 Tall Tales coins to be found. Found coins are listed at the website The Forger's Ledger, with photos, locations and the names of the finders. Some coins were found in deluxe vinyl editions of Tall Tales. Pritchard posted a video of the coins being produced. == Reception ==

}} At Metacritic, which aggregates scores from mainstream critics, Tall Tales has an average score of 81 based on 11 reviews, indicating "critical acclaim". Helen Brown of The Independent called the album a "filmic sequence of 12 songs" made up of "existential jitters". == Track listing ==

Credits adapted from the liner notes. • Thom Yorke – vocals, modular (tracks 1, 2, 5, 7–9), piano, EHX voice box (tracks 7, 10) • Mark Pritchard – production, mixing, synthesiser, Omnichord (track 5), drums (track 6, 7, 10, 11) • Jonathan Zawada – design • Jason Mitchell – mastering • Steve Christie – recording, vocal processing, harmonium (track 11), drums (track 4–6) • Josh Wermut – recording, bass (track 6, 11) • Louisa Revolta – vocals (track 8), clarinet (track 10) • Bibio – recording, engineering (track 10) • Heather Grant – cor anglais (track 10) • Lucy Andrews – oboe (track 11) == Charts ==