this album has not gotten nearly enough credit. a majority of the reviews have lamented a 'lack of energy,' condescended by implying it was cobbled together haphazardly from unused radiohead recordings, or flatly refused to direcly address the implicit ten million dollar question: does this album prove radiohead is a one man show?
a lot of these reviews give the impression the answer to that question is pre-supposed. like it isn't even worth asking. but the truth of the matter is, most of the songs on this album simply aren't radiohead songs. only two of these tracks would ever show up on a radiohead album, and i think that says a lot. its hard to express exactly why that is the case but when you listen its so unequivocally true. there's something vastly different about thom on this album then on any radiohead album to date. the timbre of his voice, the melodies, the rhythm and structure of the vocals and the interplay with the tracks are all drastically lighter than you would find on anything braded radiohead. and that lighteness i think adds an undeniable energy to the album that all the big-kit backbeats and distorted guitars in the world couldn't. maybe i have a different definition of 'energy,' but this is after all a thom yorke album, i'm not sure what these people were expecting.
'The Eraser,' 'Black Swan' and 'Atoms for Peace' are all simply incredible songs. 'summery' is probably going too far, this isn't chili peppers after all, but these tracks are so far from the december brood of most radiohead albums that they almost approach that feeling of reckless abandon we all search for this time of year.
the answer to the question: definitely not. but maybe that depends on a sub-question. is this what the next radiohead album would have sounded like? i'm going to say no but i guess we'll have to wait and see to be sure.
for now anyway this album certainly stands alone and does so strongly. it has a fresh yet familiar sound and takes nothing away radiohead's body of work. anyone who's dissapointed with this album probably has too many preconceptions, or just isn't listening close enough.
a lot of these reviews give the impression the answer to that question is pre-supposed. like it isn't even worth asking. but the truth of the matter is, most of the songs on this album simply aren't radiohead songs. only two of these tracks would ever show up on a radiohead album, and i think that says a lot. its hard to express exactly why that is the case but when you listen its so unequivocally true. there's something vastly different about thom on this album then on any radiohead album to date. the timbre of his voice, the melodies, the rhythm and structure of the vocals and the interplay with the tracks are all drastically lighter than you would find on anything braded radiohead. and that lighteness i think adds an undeniable energy to the album that all the big-kit backbeats and distorted guitars in the world couldn't. maybe i have a different definition of 'energy,' but this is after all a thom yorke album, i'm not sure what these people were expecting.
'The Eraser,' 'Black Swan' and 'Atoms for Peace' are all simply incredible songs. 'summery' is probably going too far, this isn't chili peppers after all, but these tracks are so far from the december brood of most radiohead albums that they almost approach that feeling of reckless abandon we all search for this time of year.
the answer to the question: definitely not. but maybe that depends on a sub-question. is this what the next radiohead album would have sounded like? i'm going to say no but i guess we'll have to wait and see to be sure.
for now anyway this album certainly stands alone and does so strongly. it has a fresh yet familiar sound and takes nothing away radiohead's body of work. anyone who's dissapointed with this album probably has too many preconceptions, or just isn't listening close enough.