656 Radiohead - Amnesiac (2001)

Studio Album - Experimental Rock

About the Act:

Radiohead are an English Rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, and have been in existence since 1985, continuously, with no breaks, reunions, hiatuses or even any changes in members. 36 years. That in itself is impressive.  Their lead dude is Thom Yorke, who writes the songs, sings the songs and plays lots of instruments. They are credited for being trailblazers in Alternative Rock. They have created 9 studio albums.

About the Album:

This was the band's 5th studio album, and was recorded at the same time as the previous album, Kid A. They considered the possibility of releasing a double album but decided it was too dense, so released the material as two separate albums. At this point they had left straight Britpop behind and were being quite experimental.

My History with this Album:

None

Review:

I'm having one of those "I don't know what to write" moments. Description? I'll try, but it's not easy.

There are a lot of different sorts of things here, none of which could be easily labelled "normal". There' electronic stuff that approaches noise rather than music. There's melancholy slow soundscapes. There's some unusual chord sequences and structures, and rhythms at times, including one track (Pyramid Song) that seems to stutter on the piano, with gaps that don't fit with a recognisable rhythm. This is repeated (it might be a loop) until the drums come in and make sense of it. The final track features jazz trumpeter Humphrey Littleton, and sounds like a New Orleans funeral brass band.

There are a few common themes that can be drawn out. The first is the determined unusualness of this album. In that sense it reminds me of Bjork, although it is fundamentally more minor key and sadness. It really exists in a space that is not inside rock, or pop, or any "popular" sub-genre, although it is closest to electronica sometimes, and at other times to indie rock I guess. Neither does it fit in jazz, or contemporary classical. It really is experimental.

The second is Thom York's voice. Sometimes this has been mangled in various ways, including one track in which he sang the words backwards, and they are played reversed, reconstituting the words, but sounding odd (of course). My friend Andy did this very thing on a recording he made in about 1984, but he was a true pioneer. I don't think Thom heard my friend's song "The Cube it has six sides", so I won't accuse him of plagiarism. In other places they use autotune on his spoken words to see what happens.  Thom has this natural tone to his voice which would probably sound incredibly sad singing "happy birthday", but instead they match it with sad music and chords. The whole delivery is way up there on the scale of depressing music, but it is very effective. To be honest I have very little idea what the words are about. I'm not sure they are that important.

The third is the dense, complex production which rarely stands still. There are layers and layers of sound, and processing, and reverb, and it is constantly throwing in twists and turns so that even a piano, guitar and drums track like You and Whose Army? sounds like it has been through an alien filtration process.

On my first listen, I was blown away by it. To be fair that was on headphones, and I was in the bath. I know, electronics and water. It really rewards good reproduction (and headphones are the best I have). I was immersed in both the bath and the music, and didn't even touch the book of crosswords I had to hand.

I'm less surprised now on my third listen as I write, but I still find it curious and engaging. It's possible that if you are not a fan of the weirder side of music, that you won't like this much, or if you don't like relentlessly depressive music. In all it's not an easy listen, which I guess explains why so many critics absolutely raved over it. It's all too easy to conflate difficult with quality, like Oscar-winning movies. 

Well, will you look at that, I managed to find something to say after all. Well, I do have a talent for blathering. Now I need a number. After the first listen I was contemplating a 9. I've calmed down since then. Still, I think it's solidly in the "impressive" band.

8.4/10

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1HrMmB5useeZ0F5lHrMvl0

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnoKKSlkmy-iAK_fxAdVyop4U4BcyL5ci

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesiac_(album)