Radiohead: In Rainbows

In Rainbows is the reason why I was late getting this years music review out. Not being hip and trendy enough to specify my own price and download the album from the bands website, I waited instead to buy it in my normal way from Amazon and the dam thing didn’t arrive till the end of the first week of January. The last 3 Radiohead albums have been hard work, but sticking with them for a while and repeated listening tended to bring out a few musical qualities that just about made it worthwhile. (Although in my opinion never getting close to “The Bends” or “OK Computer”. In Rainbows seems much more palatable on the first listen. Does this mean I’ll get bored of it, or will it grow into something even better? Don’t know yet.

Radiohead: Amnesiac

Much of "Amnesiac" was already in place when last years "Kid-A" was released. At the time, "Amnesiac" was being promoted as more mainstream rock and less experimental than "Kid-A". After my first listen to "Amnesiac" I found it very hard to agree with this premise, but after several more listens it seems to have lost much of its weirdness, with the exception of "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" which I still can’t claim to understand. In addition to the excellent "Pyramid Song" and "Knives Out" the album contains the beautiful "You and Whose Army?" which is more than capable of provoking the emotional response experienced by many on "OK-Computer". "I Might Be Wrong" is an inspired toe tapping four and half minutes of guitar riffs and "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" is far catchier than its title suggests. Radiohead are still pushing the frontiers of rock but are now being courteous enough to allow the fans to catch up rather than leaving them scratching their heads with a curios expression on their face.