Thom Yorke has a new band!

As you may already know, I'm a huge Radiohead fan and have been as such from the beginning, which is why I'm really excited about the latest developments from Radiohead's lead singer, Thom Yorke. Though Radiohead hasn't broken up, Thom Yorke has a new band which, in addition to Beck/R.E.M. drummer Joey Waronker and percussionist/David Byrne collaborator Mauro Refosco, includes Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers and guitar+electronic sounds from longtime Radiohead producer/mastermind Nigel Godrich. The new band and its successive shows were casually announced by Yorke last week on Radiohead's official Web site where there's always something interesting being updated on the blog.

As can be gathered from this New York Times article, which describes fan reactions to the band's debut performances, Thom Yorke's new band is as great live as is expected of such a power group.

The band performed some new songs. Here's one of those new songs, tentatively called "Open the Floodgates," performed live last week in Los Angeles. It might be nothing more than a simple set of piano chords and Thom Yorke's sensitive voice, but it's definitely exceptional in terms of revelatory lyricism and melodic malaise.

Yorke and the band mostly performed songs from his solo debut, 2006's "The Eraser." Give a listen to "Harrowdown Hill" and watch Flea get down with his bass and Yorke dance crazily. I especially appreciated Yorke pulling out his guitar four minutes into the song.

It'd be nice to see a Chicago set casually announced...