Radiohead – Kid A

Description

Radiohead are a touchstone for all that is fearless and adventurous in rock, evolving from self-loathing anthems to moody prog rock suites to weathered, if shimmering ballads. Inheritors of a throne previously occupied byDavid Bowie,Pink Floyd, andTalking Heads(from whom they took their name), the British band splicedFloyd’s spaciness withU2’s messianic arena rock heft and bridged the gap with guitar skronk borrowed from the ’80s American underground. The jagged interjections on “Creep,” the band’s Top Ten U.K., Top 40 U.S. breakthrough from their debut albumPablo Honey(1993), recalledPixiesandNirvana, but in the throes of the alternative rock explosion, Radiohead were the odd band out, seen as dour art-rock students at home and as one-hit wonders in the States. During the peak of Brit-pop, Radiohead releasedThe Bends(1995), a leap forward that gained them some traction, but it was OK Computer(1997), a bold set fueled by film music, Krautrock, and electronica, that broke down doors for the band upon its entry at the top of the U.K. and U.S. charts.

Soon, whenever rock bands dabbled in electronics, it was derived not from tightly sequenced rhythms, but rather, from glassy textures and introspection, a sensibility pioneered by the quintet. Radiohead doubled down on this aesthetic withKid A(2000) andAmnesiac(2001), favoring minimal arrangements and elements of avant-garde jazz over concise hooks. From that point on, Radiohead have occasionally worked with conventional song structures but have been drawn toward unusual paths heard onHail to the Thief(2003) andIn Rainbows(a surprise, pay-what-you-want 2007 release), followed the next decade byThe King of Limbs(2011) andA Moon Shaped Pool(2016). Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, Radiohead have focused primarily on catalog releases, side projects, and solo pursuits during the 2020s.

In the wake ofOK Computer, it became taken for granted among serious rock fans of all ages that Radiohead not only saved rock from itself, but paved the way toward the future. High praise, but given the static nature of rock in the last half of the ’90s, it was easy to see why fans and critics eagerly harnessed their hopes to the one great rock band that wanted to push the limits of its creativity, without grandstanding or pandering. Daunting expectations for anyone, even for a band eager to meet them, so it’s little wonder that Kid A was so difficult to complete. Radioheads creative breakthrough arrived when the band embraced electronica — which was nearly a clich by the end of the ’90s, when everyone fromU2toRickie Lee Jonesdabbled in trip-hop or techno. The difference is that the wholehearted conversion on Kid A fits, sinceOK Computerhad already flirted with electronica and its chilly feel. Plus, instead of simply adding club beats or sonic collage techniques, Radiohead strove for the unsettling “intelligent techno” sound ofAutechreandAphex Twin, with skittering beats and stylishly dark sonic surfaces.

To their immense credit, Radiohead don’t sound like carpetbaggers, because they share the same post-post-modern vantage point as their inspirations. As perhaps befitting an album thats coolly, self-consciously alienating, Kid A takes time to unfold; multiple plays are necessary just to discern the music’s form, to get a handle on quiet, drifting, minimally arranged songs with no hooks. This emphasis on texture, this reliance on elliptical songs, means that Kid A is easily the most successful electronica album from a rock band: it doesn’t even sound like the work of a rock band, even if it does sound like Radiohead. via AllMusic

Label: XL Recordings
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Repress
Reissued: 2023 / Original Release: 2000
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, IDM, Experimental

File under: School of Rock