Radiohead
There There
(Parlophone/EMI)

With a slinky, sexy bass line, “There there” is the first indication of what has been described as Radiohead’s “with hips” record, Hail to the Thief. Johnny Greenwood’s wandering guitar is the key - it veers wildly between a simple sound to a rip-roaring, tearing-your-ears-off cacophony. With Thom Yorke in as fine a voice as ever, “There there” was always magnificent from the moment it debuted on the rough MP3’s heard a couple of months back. Compared with “Paranoid Android”, is it indeed the first indication that Radiohead have got an OK Computer in their hip-pocket? Only a week to go to find out! As always, Radiohead show off with the B-sides - “Paperbag writer” and “Where bluebirds fly” are simply stunning; there’s no doubt that this band are quite possibly the greatest British band since the Beatles. No joke.

The Electric Newspaper
06.06.03