Radiohead - 'Kid A' (Parlophone)
5/5
By: Thomas Hannan
Radiohead are a band of five, with three guitarists. 'Kid A' is a record of eleven tracks, featuring three with guitars. 'The Bends' it certainly isn't.
You're given what we're led to believe is Thom Yorke's view on what music should sound like. The truth is, it doesn't really sound like anything else, apart from Aphex Twin in places. If you've got an Internet connection and the wonderful Napster, chances are you'll know the songs already. You may have thought that 'OK Computer' had its moments of madness. If so, this is an album that should be locked in solitary confinement, a danger to itself and others.
You'll want to love it, after all, it's cool to like Radiohead, but at first, you'll find it hard. 'Everything In It's Right Place' is an effective opener, making good use of guitarist Johnny Greenwood's new found skills in the sampling department. It even becomes quite infectious after a few listens, an accusation that couldn't be made of the title track; 'Kid A' is almost terrifying, with what sounds like a children's musical box being played instead being Thom's electrified vocals of 'We've got heads on sticks' that you suspect wouldn't give any child a good night's sleep. 'The National Anthem', meanwhile, used as a set-opener of some gigs on the recent tour, is the closest we've got to conventional yet; blimey, the bass-line is almost funky, and the vocals are just about audible - but it goes all messy towards the end in a huge jazz crescendo which is more irritating than intriguing. Typical.
The band's decision to not release any singles from the album is a good one (you'd have a hard time shifting them or getting 'em play-listed on the radio anyway). Besides, there are really only two candidates for selection - the first, 'Optimistic', is wonderful, a track sometimes referred to as 'Poptimistic' by Thom Yorke; maybe not quite the correct genre to be slotting it in, but if great guitars and a catchy chorus are what constitute pop, then pop it is.
The other possibility, meanwhile, is 'Idioteque', another absolutely stunning track relying heavily on keyboards and drums. It's almost like Radiohead gone Artful Dodger, except being really good at the same time. Lyrics are comprised of things that keep Thom awake at night - 'Mobiles chirping... I've seen too much, I've seen enough'.
The closer, not counting 50 seconds or so of ambient noises, is 'Motion Picture Soundtrack'. As heartbreaking as 'Street Spirit' or 'Fake Plastic Trees' ever were, the pre-'Creep' track has changed radically since its beginnings as a simple acoustic strum along. Guitars, instruments that almost seem to be regarded with a certain degree of shame on this album, have been chucked away in favour of organs and harps. The end product is a moving and truly brilliant song.
Conclusively, 'Kid A' isn't quite the cause for concern we all worried it would be. It's still good, it's still 'cool'. And it's still just about Radiohead.
Artists in this article: Radiohead
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