One of the expected traits from a troupe of talented musicians is the ability to adapt and progress over time. Music should be just as, if not more, dynamic than the timeline which it occupies.
Back in 1993, the group of five young Brits released an album titled Pablo Honey. The album was a refreshment, coming off the post-grunge movement, and the radio single "Creep" from this album served as a cheeky introduction to the group's quirkiness. Two years later, they released another album, this one called The Bends. Sort of a sleeper hit, this one smacked of sincerity and style, all "sonically ambitious" with its blend of distorted tremolo and vocally realized paranoia. In 1997, they confirmed the impression left by the previous album that they were only capable of getting better. OK Computer, a techie-titled sci-fi wave of hysteria, provided only faint echoes of their previous offerings, but the risk assumed by their deviation from standard formula was well-worth the taking, as this art-rock album left the public stunned.
Now, three years after their last release, Radiohead have again impressed upon us that they aren't going formulaic just yet. Kid A is The Wall for the Naughties. At once airy, lush, lovely and arty, it takes your ears by storm with its grandiose soundscapes and electronic loopings.
There are times during this epic of a record where it's impossible to decide whether it belongs on a turntable or in an art museum. It's almost painfully obvious to the listener than its composers devoted massive amounts of time to the creation of Kid A, and massive amount of money on the studio effects. While Kid A sounds cultivated, it falls just short of over-processed.
"Everything in its Right Place" is a striking opener for the album. It has dark undertones to it, and serves as a terrific prequel for the songs to come. It segues beautifully into the title track "Kid A", which made great use of the pitchshifting capabilities of modern studio equipment. Disappointingly, this is one of the tracks that pushes the boundaries of cultivated vs. overprocessed...
"The National Anthem" is a song with an eerily dark, heavy feel to it, full of low horns and staccato drums. "How to Disappear Completely", one of my favourite songs on the album, almost makes one want to cry with its sad lyrics, sung in that mournful tone that belongs to Thom Yorke alone.
"Treefingers" slips by without much of an impression at all, but the next tune, "Optimistic", was simply destined to become the band's radio single from this release. To me it seems almost a post-modern nod of the head to P.J. Harvey (whose music Thom has admitted to liking) with its lyrical insanity. It's also the only track on the entire album that bears any resemblance to formulaic rock, but even that resemblance is slight.
"In Limbo" is another track which repeated listening erases the admiration of, but the next track, "Idioteque", is what saves the rest of the album. "Morning Bell" and "Motion Picture Soundtrack" are both interesting bits of studio composition, but without "Idioteque", then end of the album would be both forgettable, and regrettable. "Idioteque" is a swirling dirge of staccato percussion and keyboard loops. The lyrics are low enough in the mix that its sharp beat and wavery electronic foundation are allowed to define and carry the song. There's even enough of an electronic nod to OK Computer from this song to satisfy the pundits who look for traces of the old in the new.
In short, if you're looking for a sequel to any of their prior releases, Kid A isn't it. Times change, the music changes, and Radiohead have proven they are capable of bridging the shift.
Kid A is Radiohead s fourth studio effort. Radiohead s third album, OK Computer, was released in June 1997 and immediately hit No. 1 on the British al...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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