Anyone expecting the world's most popular experimental rock band to follow up the outta-space electronics of Kid A with something a bit more linear should throw in the towel. Amnesiac does momentarily hearken back to the moody rock-centrism of OK Computer, but it's just as odd and experimental as Kid A, if not more. At this moment, the boys of Radiohead resemble their initial plastic paranoid creep selves about as much the band who recorded "Revolution #9" resembled the one that recorded "She Loves You." For the unlucky folks who haven't already scored it on Napster, here's a track-by-track preview.

1. Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
One of the album's most accessible tracks, this begins with a kettledrum-like loop before kicking in with a subtle 909 beat and Depeche Mode-y keyboards. As Thom Yorke chants, "I'm a reasonable man, get off my case, get off my case," the track fills with swirling, backward guitars, giving way to spurts of sequenced noise.

  • Mallon: Could easily earn it a spot on the Warp Records roster.
  • Orlov: Their next hit record? Only on another planet.

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    2. Pyramid Song
    Very similar to the live version available on the Web, this spacious, piano-driven song features an orchestra accentuating Yorke's every word. During the quiet opening, barely audible violins quiver far in the background; as the track picks up, they swell according to the volume of his voice. "Pyramid" also contains an uncharacteristic moment of optimism, with Yorke singing, "There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt."

  • Orlov: Nope, we're still not coming back down.

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    3. Pulk / Pull Revolving Doors
    Dirty, fractured beats and Yorke's electronically treated mumbling combine for a new Radiohead extreme. It's so short (less than two minutes), you can't help but think it's an experimental afterthought.

  • Orlov: One of the album's sonic highlights.
  • Mallon: One of the harder-to-swallow tracks.

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    4. You And Whose Army?
    The first half of the song is just Yorke, a few jazzy guitar chords and Colin Greenwood's standup bass, underscored by ethereal, barbershop-esque vocals.

  • Mallon: Eventually the whole band kicks in, but their part is over as soon as it begins.
  • Orlov: Proves they still know where terra firma's at, building in Karma Cop-ic fashion toward a Radiohead rock crescendo, so that the recent converts don't freak out too much.

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    5. I Might Be Wrong
    Slightly neutered from its barn-burning live version, this mixes a busy Delta blues groove with a thumping electronic beat. Yorke listlessly delivers lines like "I might be wrong/ ...I used to think there's no future at all" and "Think about the good times, never look back."

  • Mallon: Funkier than the band's entire back catalog put together, but much better live.
  • Orlov: Easily the album's most boring track, until the end coda where the mixing board becomes a playa.

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    6. Knives Out
    Guitarist Ed O'Brien described this as "Smiths-esque" in his online diary, and he wasn't kidding: "Knives Out" boasts a completely straightforward three-guitar arrangement and qualifies as the most normal thing they've done in years.

  • Mallon: Unfortunately, that also means it's the most uninteresting thing they've done in years, even if it is about Tony Blair and cannibalism.
  • Orlov: Acoustic guitar slashing through Oxford-educated folk Floyd. Blaaah!

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    7. Amnesiac/Morning Bell
    A version of Kid A's "Morning Bell." This one uses a 4/4 signature instead of the original's distinctive 5/4; it also replaces the unrelenting beat and electric piano with bells, xylophones and acoustic guitar.

  • Orlov: A creepy atmospheric lullaby, with the silent wildcat growling and the digital wind beginning to howl.
  • Mallon: This one would have been better saved for a B-side.

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    8. Dollars & Cents
    Another spacious production, filled with acres of reverb and an orchestra that mimics and sometimes drowns Yorke's voice-it almost seems as if he's fighting with the rest of the song to be heard. Full of swirly violins, synth guitar effects, layered vocals and tons of mumbling.

  • Orlov: Is this where producer Nigel Godrich earned his keep?

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    9. Hunting Bears
    "Hunting Bears" is like a brother to Kid A's "Treefingers." It starts with a promisingly loud guitar note but descends into two minutes of noodling and oceanic whooshing.

  • Orlov: Two minutes of highly affected lone guitar hanging out in the studio, being switched to overload. More experiments with mixing desks and a platinum card.
  • Mallon: A throwaway instrumental. The space could have been better spent.

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    10. Like Spinning Plates
    A maelstrom of intriguing digital noise. The rhythm tracks seem to be made up solely of processed turntable scratches and backward noises, topped by reversed synth notes sequenced into a somewhat catchy melody. The only recognizable lyric is, "This just feels like spinning plates," and considering the amount going on in this incredibly busy track, that's apt.

  • Orlov: Yorke emotes with the largess of a rockstar who knows he's cool-and an artist who knows his art is succeeding.

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    11. Life In A Glass House
    The ending is Amnesiac's biggest surprise-picture Yorke & Co. hanging out in 1930s New Orleans with Swordfish-era Tom Waits and you've got it. The track sounds totally different than the arrangement that appeared briefly in their tour film Meeting People Is Easy, using burlesque horns to an almost comical effect.

  • Mallon: I hope it was meant to be amusing, because I chuckled the whole way through.
  • Orlov: It's a companion piece to Kid A's "National Anthem" and the record's finest moment. The new extreme.


    • -Tom Mallon & Piotr Orlov

    CMJ
    09.05.01