They can still do it, you know. If anyone would have doubted it after Kid A, they can still create the perfect pop song. No matter what arrangement they use - electronica, rock, lofi - there are only a few bands that can top - or even level - Radiohead's ability to put the perfect melody into the perfect structure. And after adding the perfect vocals, the result: the perfect pop song. They did it in the past - I could mention some examples, but I won't. They do it again on Amnesiac. The perfect pop songs on this album are among the very best they have ever recorded. Starting off with 'Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box': living proof that those electronics can lead to a real song. Brilliant melodies, processed vocals that actually sound good, nice groove. It's not the only time the electronica leads to something good: 'Like Spinning Plates' begins in reverse, but slowly evolves into a less alienating "real" song. Maybe good to know for the people who didn't like that electronica on Kid A and were afraid that good ol' Radiohead were lost forever: They aren't. 'Pyramid Song' and 'Knives Out' are completely in OK Computer-style, and you can't get 'em much better than this. Classic melodies, heartbraking melancholy, and beautifully sung. 'Dollars and Cents' shows a great affinity for Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, and since that is quite some time ago, these sounds are a very welcome return. Worth mentioning as well is the New Orleans jazz arrangement in 'Life in a Glasshouse', but though it sounds really fascinating, the end result isn't entirely impressive. But actually, it's still much better than some other songs on Amnesiac. After numerous listens I still don't know what they were trying to achieve with 'Pull/Pulk Revolving Doors': a boring attempt to create industrial IDM (intelligent dance music). Nothing happens other than some loops and distorted beats. 'Hunting Bears' is nothing more than a soundscape with a guitar melody played over it. 'You and Whose Army?' is, in essence, a classic Radiohead song, but they recorded it very lofi, with vocals which sound like they were sung through a thick cloth. And where on 'Pyramid Song' the drums sound like an old vintage drumkit which has been handled with extreme care over the last 50 years, on 'You and Whose Army?' they sound flat and boring. That enormous difference, that extreme gap is striking for Amnesiac: Brilliance and boredom go hand in hand, and mediocrity is a disease that even Radiohead can get infected with. The biggest dissapointment, however, is the alternate version of 'Morning bell/Amnesiac'. A great version was already covered on Kid A, and the use of this more or less new version is completely beyond me. Thom Yorke recently stated that he found Sgt. Pepper's an album with songs that didn't fit together at all, but when we look at the last two Radiohead albums, that statement is much more applicable to his own band. The best songs from both albums compiled would have made the instant classic the world was waiting for all along.

-Bas Ickenroth

The Kinda Muzik You Like!
25.06.01