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Radiohead
Hail to the Thief
Capitol

Review by Tate Blackmore

After two albums of almost guitar-less experimentation, Radiohead's latest, Hail to the Thief, opens with the snapping hum of a guitar being plugged in. Before fans of 1995's The Bends and 1997's OK Computer, stand up and celebrate Radiohead's return to rock, the noise is silenced after only few crackles as the steady picking of 2 + 2 = 5, the leadoff track, begins making strides. While the new album has its rocking moments, the melodic chords overcoming the feedback actually announce that this is a band in complete control.

The creeping, standout track, We Suck Young Blood, sounds like a pack of wolves quietly inching closer and closer to its frozen prey. A soft piano lingers around snapping handclaps impacting on odd-timed notes. "Are you strung up by the wrists? We Want young blood," singer Thom Yorke croons, his voice crackling around the edges. As the tempo swells behind him, he shakes alive with an alarming moan. Right before he hits his screaming climax, the band halts, steering the song back downwards as if nothing ever happened.

This is a band that is focused, natural, and yes, despite lines like, "Drag him out the window, Dragging out your dead, Singing I miss you," sounds like it's having fun. Yorke's voice is free, for the most part, of any electronic manipulation, allowing us to hear every ache and every wail, as if he's sitting on the muff of our headphones. And damn, wait until you hear the sputtering vocals on A Wolf at the Door.

On the more elegant side, Yorke beautifully harmonizes with himself on I Will as he while gently sings, "Little babies' eyes," over and over. And for every soft moment, there is a rocker to get your whole body rocking. Where I End and You Begin, There there, and Myxomatosis will no doubt get the crowds to their feet during live shows.

For the first album since their debut, Pablo Honey, Yorke, along with guitarists Jonny Greenwood and Ed O'Brien, bassist Colin Greenwood, and drummer Philip Selway seem relaxed, and not preoccupied with making sure every second of music goes along with some crazy new incarnation. There are still plenty of electronic rhythms, bleeps, and whooshing laser sounds, as found on the poppy, Backdrifts. However the very next track, Go to Sleep, kicks off with a crisp acoustic guitar.

Overall, there isn't a single bad note on this record. It's warm, full of hooks, and best of all, as with the past albums, its true meaning is determined by what the listener wants it to be. The lyrics, although well crafted and very vivid, somehow magically remain vague. That leaves us to fill in the gaps, which is probably why this band gets more and more popular with each release. Even as Yorke sings the line, "I got Myxomatosis," which literally translates into, "I got a disease that was used to control the rabbit population in England," we really hear frustration, anger, disappointment, and no doubt, a host of other emotions with each listen. Hail, hail!

Review by Lando da Pimp

Filled with dreary sluggish songs that are bleak and moody, Hail to the Thief has a small familiarity to Radiohead's third album OK Computer. Thief finds the band strangely focused. Even in Thom's world where "2+2=5" and a highly infectious disease ("Myxomatosis") of rabbits has infected a cat.

Thom Yorke's lyrics have always been an interesting read, even if you don't understand their meaning. "Yesterday I woke up sucking a lemon, black eyed angels smiled at me, we've got heads on sticks, you've got ventriloquists" Always presented in an abstract view, Thom lets everyone know the world is a fucked up place.

Experimentation seems to be partially over. Where the last two albums had strong overpowering electronic sounds this time Radiohead plugged in the guitars for a few tracks. This brought to light as we hear the cable connect to the jack of the guitar at the start of the album. This is a step closer to the older more familiar Radiohead that we know.

Backdrifts shows that Radiohead haven't lost touch with the experimentalism of Kid A and Amnesiac. The song is filled with garbled vocal delays, electronic sounds, and distorted drum machine loops. We Suck Young Blood, a mournful song that embodies its vampire title, creeps along with Thom's whinny depression to the accompanying pianos minor keys.

There There is a terrifyingly strange yet straightforward anthem. Soaring harmonies and a thrundering crescendo make this the high point of the album. A Wolf at the Door closes the album with Thom's description of a person beaten. "Smacks you in the head, knifes you in the neck, kicks you in the teeth, steel toe caps."

Radiohead has captured a sound and made it theirs. Unfortunatley the sound has a very repetitive quality to it. Songs seem to blend in to each other at times without a clear definition when a song has begun or ended. Hail to the Thief isn't a terrible album. I just need a little more guitar.

You can purchase Hail to the Thief from Amazon.com for $13.49.

Read the Metallica: St. Anger review by Lando and Tate.

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