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Hail to The Thief (RadioHead) |
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 Radiohead's
admittedly assumed dilemma: how to push things forward using just the
right amounts of the old and the older in order to please both sides of
the divide? Taking advantage of their longest running time to date,
enough space is provided to quench the thirsts of resolute Bends
devotees without losing the adventurous drive or experimentation that
eventually got the group into hot water with many of those same
listeners. Guitars churn and chime and sound like guitars more often
than not; drums are more likely to be played by a human; and
discernible verses are more frequently trailed by discernible choruses.
So, whether or not the group is to be considered "back," there is a
certain return to relatively traditional songcraft. Had the opening "2
+ 2 = 5" and "Sit Down. Stand Up." been made two years before, each
song's slowly swelling intensity would have plateaued a couple minutes
in, functioning as mood pieces without any release; instead, each boils
over into its own cathartic tantrum. The spook-filled "Sail to the
Moon," one of several songs
Guitars churn and chime and sound like guitars more often
than not; drums are more likely to be played by a human; and
discernible verses are more frequently trailed by discernible choruses.
So, whether or not the group is to be considered "back," there is a
certain return to relatively traditional songcraft. Had the opening "2
+ 2 = 5" and "Sit Down. Stand Up." been made two years before, each
song's slowly swelling intensity would have plateaued a couple minutes
in, functioning as mood pieces without any release; instead, each boils
over into its own cathartic tantrum. The spook-filled "Sail to the
Moon," one of several songs featuring prominent piano, rivals "Street Spirit" and hovers
compellingly without much sense of force carrying it along. Somewhat
ironically, minus a handful of the more conventionally structured
songs, the album would be almost as fractured, remote, and challenging
as Amnesiac.
"Backdrifts" and "The Gloaming" feature nervous electronic backdrops,
while the emaciated "We Suck Young Blood" is a laggard processional
that, save for one outburst, shuffles along uneasily. At nearly an hour
in length, this album doesn't unleash the terse blow delivered by its
two predecessors. However, despite the fact that it seems more like a
bunch of songs on a disc rather than a singular body, its impact is
substantial. Regardless of all the debates surrounding the group, Radiohead have entered a second decade of record-making with a surplus of momentum. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
» 1 Comment
1Comment
at Monday, 29 September 2008 17:07
This is by far their ummm, second best album. OK Computer is the biznitch, but In Rainbows is awesome.... This one (Hail to the Thief) is all antiwar-bush rhetoric but the tracks are dreamy and smooth, typical of Radiohead. I like it, case closed...
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Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt
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Temp:
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33°C
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Wind Chill:
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33°C
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Humidity:
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36%
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FAST 42kb Stereo (WMA No-Popup)
LOW 16kb MONO (WMA No Popup) 
