This One Just Came Out of the Swamp
 Dec 13th, 2000
(Apr 25th, 2001)
Advantages:
It's almost completely different to every other Radiohead release
Disadvantages:
It's almost completely different to every other Radiohead release
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Originality
Lyrics
Quality and consistency of tracks
How does it compare to the artist's other releases
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  kfingleton
About me:
Do you really need to know anything about me? It's not as if we'll ever meet. It's pretty obvious ...
Member since:13.12.2000
Reviews:124
Members who trust:71
Review rated by 11 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
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Ah! Radiohead, forever changing, forever experimenting and defying lazy journalistic labels. When will they learn to settle down and remake all their hits again and again? Mainstream artists are not meant to be that way. Thank whoever you worship they don't, because change is a a very good thing. Like the change from tyranny to democracy and from carraiges to cars. This is defined as Progress, and Progress is not a dirty word. And so we present 'Kid A'. Four albums in 7 years is hardly super-productive, even with the more lazy work-ethic of the modern rock group. In fact, the time it took to create album #4 only helped heep more and more hype on top of a band that were falling apart at the seams and struggling with countless inner demons during a long and frought recording period. There is no wonder that 'Kid A' suffers from a severe lack of coherence, it often feels disjointed. The previous Radiohead epic 'OK Computer' also suffered in this way, but for different reasons. In 1997 the band fought over the track order for that LP, and to my mind they got it wrong, the tracks didn't seem to fit so fluidly like on 'The Bends'. But 'Kid A' is incoherent in many ways; Thom Yorke's voice (especially in the title track), the drum beats of the deranged disco of 'Idoteque and the ambience of 'Treefingers' soundscape.
But this is no bad thing, because it really seems to bring us closer to the essence of Radiohead and that essence is a very illusive thing. Previously, the albums were dictated by Thom Yorke, but on this body of work, the involvement by the rest of the band in relative terms is minimal, most notably the guitar genius of Johnny Greenwood. But this stripped down Radiohead, the demented sound, the disjointed rhythms seem more honest and real, their songs are beginning to look more and more like the artwork that adorns their records. Thom Yorke's head is a scary place. The stripped down lyrics also provide us with a clearer insight into Thom's mind. "I'm not here / This isn't happening" he cries in the quite beautiful 'How To Disappear Completely'. It seems to be a reaction to the hype and the image surrounding all that was to do with 'OK Computer' and the subsequent, torturously long tour (brilliantly documented in the film 'Meeting People Is Easy. A Film About Radiohead'). "This is really happening / We're not scared" sounds like a deliberate contradiction in the extremely scary, but equally wonderful 'Idioteque'. Another contradiction is in the first line of the first track 'Everything in its Right Place'. The lyric repeats the title, but surely, as the interviews told us recently, nothing was in its right place.
It is true to say that this album is not for those who yell for 'Creep' before every song at their concerts. It's extremely difficult to listen to and comprehend at first. Like a W.B. Yeats poem, the more time and energy you give it, the more rewarding it comes. It makes 'Pablo Honey' and 'The Bends' seem like the microwaveable food of music in relative terms. Where they were simple, filling and easily rewarding, the next two works and especially 'Kid A' take a lot of work before we can devour them. To be honest, the backlash (that is already beginning will be severe) and only time will tell, if 'Kid A' becomes regarded as triumphant or turgid. I doubt whether Radiohead will actually care what posterity thinks. But on what grounds do you buy an album? The critics are as fickle as a football crowd and love to build someone up just to knock them down. As an average punter I always listen with my ears, not with my eyes (reading the NME review). So you may even disregard my love for this record. It doesn't matter whether it is regarded as classic or clangor, you'll either love it if you're a bit of a musical lefty or hate it if you're a bit more conservative. If you don't want it you can always put 'Fake Plastic Trees' on repeat.
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20.01.2001 00:41
At last, someone who can write decent reviews - I was about to sack this Ciao thing off until I read this well-considered piece.
02.01.2001 03:12
this was a realy good review, it's long but once you get through it, i'm quite new to ciao so i quess you've been doing this for a long time. i really agree with some of your points
28.12.2000 17:59
A brilliant review. I agree entirely with your sentiments here,