Last
week, I left things off on a high-note by discussing The OKC and Kid A eras of
Radiohead. While most would agree that
they have not been quite able to recreate that level of commercial and critical
success, Radiohead still managed to produce several more quality albums, while
continuing to experiment with other genres.
2001: Amnesiac
Even the b-sides of Kid
A are pretty incredible for the most part.
In 2001, Radiohead released several of these b-sides as a standalone
album called Amnesiac.
The
tone is definitely similar to Kid A
with regards to its use of ambience, string and brass instruments, and
synthesizers. While most fans would
agree that Amnesiac is not quite as
strong as its predecessor, there are definitely some standout tracks. “Pyramid Song” utilizes a full orchestra and
remains one of their most beautiful tracks to date.
2003: Hail to the Thief
Released in 2003, Hail
to the Thief represents a shift back towards more conventional
guitar-driven alternative rock, though there are definitely some ambient and
electronic tracks mixed in. This makes
the flow of the album seem somewhat unusual at first, though it’s still a very
solid collection of tracks.
Lyrically,
this album is definitely more political and anti-establishment than their
earlier work, particularly in the opening track, “2+2=5,” a reference to
Orwell’s 1984.
2007: In Rainbows
This album caught a lot of media
attention when it was released online with a “Pay what you want” model. Even though you could essentially get this
album for free if you wanted to, the band actually made more money with this
album than any of their previous albums, since it was released
independently. In case you’re wondering,
I actually paid $80 for the special edition vinyl version, and I regret nothing
about this decision.
Musically,
In Rainbows spans many different
genres from alternative, to art pop, and of course, experimental
electronica. “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” is
definitely a stand-out track, although honestly there is zero filler on this
album, and every track is a winner.
2011: The King of Limbs
You may remember the music video
for “Lotus Flower” from this album that launched an internet meme, based on
Thom Yorke’s interestingly spastic style of dancing.
The
King of Limbs puts
a lot of emphasis on drum and bass, and is one of the bands most rhythmic
albums to date. Mixed with the heavy
electronic/ambient presence throughout most of the album, this definitely makes
for an interesting record. I’ll admit
that there’s arguably some filler here, but the standout tracks (such as
“Bloom” and “Lotus Flower”) are some of the band’s most creative tracks to
date.
2016: A Moon Shaped Pool
After a 5-year hiatus where the
band members focused on solo releases and other projects, they released A Moon Shaped Pool in 2016. Probably my favorite album of the last
decade, A Moon Shaped Poolcould
perhaps best be described as art rock, with overtones of ambience and heavy use
of piano and string instruments.
This album also has more ballads than
any other Radiohead album (see “Daydreaming” and “True Love Waits”, with love
and forgiveness being prevalent lyrical themes.
For those in the mood for something more conventional, there are some
very strong guitar/bass driven tracks as well (“Ful Stop” and “Identikit” come
to mind).
2017 to Present
Though there’s still no news yet
about Radiohead’s next album, they released a remaster of OK Computer called OKNOTOK in
2017. This remaster was extremely
well-done, and the bonus tracks included are pretty top-notch as well, though I
wish they included more than just 3 previously unreleased tracks.
Going forward, we can only speculate what Radiohead’s
next album will encompass, but I wouldn’t rule anything out. Given their tendency to reinvent themselves
with almost every album release, anything is possible.
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