Radiohead – The Bends

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 wasOK 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.

Pablo Honeyin no way was adequate preparation for its epic, sprawling follow-up, The Bends. Building from the sweeping, three-guitar attack that punctuated the best moments ofPablo Honey, Radiohead create a grand and forceful sound that nevertheless resonates with anguish and despair — it’s cerebral anthemic rock. Occasionally, the album displays its influences, whether it’sU2,Pink Floyd,R.E.M., orthe Pixies, but Radiohead turn clichs inside out, making each song sound bracingly fresh.Thom Yorke‘s tortured lyrics give the album a melancholy undercurrent, as does the surging, textured music.But what makesThe Bends so remarkable is that it marries such ambitious, and often challenging, instrumental soundscapes to songs that are at their cores hauntingly melodic and accessible. It makes the record compelling upon first listen, but it reveals new details with each listen, and soon it becomes apparent that with The Bends, Radiohead have reinvented anthemic rock. via AllMusic

Label: XL Recordings
Format:Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
Reissued:2023 / Original Release: 1994
Genre:Rock
Style:Alternative Rock

File under: School of Rock