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All hail Radiohead. It took me a long time and a work like "Hail to the Thief," to come to that type statement. But what Radiohead has accomplished on this album earns them the critics darlings praise they have received all along. Their otherworldly ambient rock reaches a new level here.
Let me give you some background. If you read any of my other reviews on Radiohead you will find me attempting to write them off as overstated hype but recently I've been going back to "OK Computer," and "Amnesiac," and find myself drawn into the sound. I had always been willing to admit to Radiohead's sparks of originality but they seem to have drawn upon a chord of dislocation. So, though I had all but written the group off and let the critics have their way with hailing the group as rock's genius wonders to take music to the next level, for some reason I kept buying their albums and thinking...maybe if I listen hard I'll find it too. Well, "Hail to the Thief," has me convinced of Radiohead's ascendency and let me tell you why.
Though much has been said of the band returning to some rock roots with this album, on the whole I don't find that the case. They have blended some more traditional (at least as traditional as Radiohead gets) rock with their electronica experimented sound they explored on Amnesiac and Kid A. On the whole, there is plenty of spacey noises to go around and the beauty of it is...it doesn't come off forced or un-musical as much electronica can. Instead it places Radiohead's soundscape deliciously detached, sublimely surreal. "We don't wanna wake the monster / Tiptoe round tie him down / We don't want the loonies taking over," sings Thomas Yorke on "Go to Sleep." And so it becomes a soundtrack to modern life in which we found ourselves deeply human swimming for air in a sea of unhumanizing technology. There is that fear of waking the monster that is always just at the edge of Radiohead's songs.
One thing that must be understood about "Hail to the Thief," is that it's not feel good music. It's not a total downer either. It has more of the tension and stress of a Bowie's Ziggy Stardust or Outside or Trent Reznor mixed with some finely skilled songcraft. It is music in a daze. It is London fog thick and isolating. It can be a perfect reflection of the modern condition.
Each song seems to have it's place and uniqueness. Some are split personalities between the drawn out high lonely croon of Yorke's falsetto and the driven beat. They are down right schizophrenic which of course makes them so interesting. "2+2=5," is the opening track and sets the tone for the rest of the album. A slight ticking keeps a nervous beat easing the listener into the eventual fury of, "It is too late now because you have not been paying attention." And then "Sit Down. Stand Up," weaves its way into a techno throb repeating raindrops, raindrops. "Backdrifts," is a standout dance club beat that eventually devolves into those space gun laser shooting sounds. Somehow it works. The album all comes together on "Where I End and You Begin," with a rolling bass driving the song along in classic Radiohead fashion. You will think the Beatles have modernized themselves with a lick from Taxman on "There There." That leads into the 1-2 punch with "A punchup at a Wedding," with a meandering guitar and piano duet that can leave you Saturday strip windows down rolling in the night 10 mph feeling the cool wash over you finger tapping on the side view mirror.
Radiohead has truly done it with "Hail to the Thief." Any of you other doubting Thomas that still exist don't be an indie poser any longer...leap into the bandwagon baby. This is the face of modern music. Thomas Yorke and crew have elevated themselves so far above the fray that the masses will be aghast at trying to figure out what the beautiful noise all means. Start scratching your head and tapping your toes. Join in my dear dislocated listener.
--MMW
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Reviews with images
Music deserves 65/5 stars
Great music but my inside artwork came with crusted material on the back side as if some one had Cheetos on their fingers and touched the paper. What the heck? I ordered this “new.” Also, I’m not sure if this is part of the artwork but the same back end of the artwork has black marks all over it that resemble finger prints. Seriously? I gave the music 5 stars.
