Phil Selway of Radiohead to release solo album

This will be no surprise to loyal followers of Radiohead's, as Selway, like his fellow Radiohead band members, has shown that he is far from a one trick pony. Whether you love or hate Radiohead, it's difficult not to admire the way in which they survived and were strengthened by the dramatic shift from guitar driven to electronically fueled band in 2000 with the release of their fourth studio album Kid A.

We may have imagined the drummer sitting dejectedly behind his kit as Thom York and co fiddled with synths and drum machines wondering "what am I supposed to do?". But this was far from the truth, and since, Selway seemed to grow with each challenge, taking on new rolls in and out of Radiohead.

Selway's journey to this solo album began with a charity collaboration which brought together names as diverse as Neil Finn of Crowded House, Johnny Marr, Eddie Vedder, Lisa Germano, former Soul Coughing bassist Sebastian Steinberg and fellow Radiohead's member Ed O'Brien. This project grew into an album and on being revived in 2008, saw Selway taking his first public steps as a vocalist and primary songwriter.

Now, Selway's debut solo album, Familial sees the drummer putting down the sticks with a record that is decidedly all about the song, the lyrics and texture. Despite once again featuring the work of Lisa Germano, Sebastian Steinberg as well as Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Sansone, this is by no means a rock record.

Familial is released August 30 on Bella Union Records.