Artist: Radiohead
Label: Parlophone Records
Release: 2009
Rating: 3.5/5
After the successful debut Pablo Honey, Radiohead played a ton of big shows all over the world. But even then, rumors started going around that the lads aren’t your typical rock stars and that stardom maybe doesn’t suit them all that well. Radiohead’s answer came in the form of a new album, one that clearly reflects their touring adventures and their disillusionment with the social order. That’s exactly why critics took the new record as Radiohead in a new skin: artistically more polished and a whole lot more original.
The musical progress is obvious from the very first notes. The lads got stuck in and clearly wanted to prove they’ve got more than one big hit in them, that they can make music with far more depth. Even though the music is much more innovative and distinctive, Radiohead still managed to squeeze out a few big hits on this album too. This time the cash registers were kept ringing mainly by Hign and Dry, Just and My Iron Lung. Those three tracks alone show serious musical quality, but the real magic hides in the rest of the album, where Radiohead come alive in their own right and move away from the copycatting we got on the debut.
For the second disc, Parlaphone has once again included some very rare recordings by the band. The most eye-catching addition is the My Iron Lung EP, with the exception of the acoustic version of the hit Creep. On top of that, the second CD also has some fairly unimportant stuff, which will surely mean a lot to the band’s fans. There are a few acoustic reworkings, a few live tracks, and so on. Fans will no doubt get what they wanted, while neutral observers will see that the second disc is more or less unnecessary.
Stylistically, Radiohead have changed quite a bit. On Pablo Honey you can feel plenty of grunge, Britpop and indie rock influence, but this time they started playing a different style, one that became more recognizable and their trademark. The guitars are still way out in front and there aren’t as many electronic effects, samples and loops as later on, but you can feel the music is much more hypnotic, as if Radiohead were borrowing a bit more from psychedelic prog bands. And even if they are borrowing again, it doesn’t sound like a copy the way it did on the debut, but comes across as a sound of their own, one that other bands later “stole” right from them. These hypnotic patterns also gave birth to a new genre called post rock. In the heavier parts Radiohead still sound grungy, as depressive as Smashing Pumpkins, but those parts are getting fewer and fewer. The use of acoustic guitar and keyboards is far more noticeable, often adding an ambient element.
Radiohead aren’t exactly virtuosos, but already on this album you can see that vision often matters more than raw skill. The lads cashed in well on their talent for innovation and gave everything they had musically, so even from a technical standpoint the music comes across as very convincing.
The progress isn’t only in the music, either, because Thom Yorke’s lyrics are noticeably better too. There’s a lot more mystery and social criticism in them, and a lot less of Yorke’s whining, though it’s still there from time to time. It’s most noticeable in his voice, which simply can’t help but be full of sadness and suffering (what on earth did they do to him?).
With The Bends, Radiohead already show their true strengths and take us into the world of their abilities, which aren’t yet fully realized. The best was still to come, but even with this release Radiohead made a big leap forward in quality. The Bends is an excellent album that marked a huge artistic step forward for the band, and surprisingly they lost nothing in sales terms with it, since the album was even more successful than the debut. This new edition of the album will definitely be interesting to all Radiohead collectors and to those just getting to know the band, even though the second CD doesn’t offer anything earth-shattering.
Lineup
Thom Yorke – vocals
Jonny Greenwood – guitars, keyboards
Ed O’brian – guitars
Phil Selway – drums
Colin Greenwood – bass
Production
Radiohead
Track list
CD1:
1. Planet Telex 4:18
2. The Bends 4:06
3. High and Dry 4:17
4. Fake Plastic Trees 4:50
5. Bones 3:08
6. (Nice Dream) 3:53
7. Just 3:54
8. My Iron Lung 4:36
9. Bullet Proof… I Wish I Was 3:28
10. Black Star 4:07
11. Sulk 3:42
12. Street Spirit (Fade Out) 4:12
CD2:
1. The Trickster 4:42
2. Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong 4:41
3. Lozenge Of Love 2:17
4. Lewis (Mistreated) 3:20
5. Permanent Daylight 2:49
6. You Never Wash Up After Yourself (Live) 1:44
7. Maquiladora 3:26
8. Killer Cars 3:03
9. India Rubber 3:26
10. How Can You Be Sure 4:22
11. Fake Plastic Trees (Acoustic Version) 4:41
12. Bullet Proof … I Wish I Was (Acoustic) 3:35
13. Street Spirit (Fade Out) (Acoustic) 4:25
14. Talk Show Host 4:40
15. Bishop’s Robes 3:25
16. Banana Co 2:21
17. Molasses 2:27
18. Just (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session) 3:45
19. Maquiladora (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session) 3:30
20. Street Spirit (Fade Out) (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session) 4:21
21. Bones (BBC Radio 1 Evening Session) 3:02
