FOR THE RECORD
By Ross Brandstatter
IV Leader Music Critic, Sept. 2, 2010
Radiohead has always been a genre-bending group of musicians, mixing and mashing various styles together to produce new soundscapes. However, during the ‘90s, they were often marginalized as alt-rock heroes, and the desire to create something entirely different became a necessity for the band.
With the 10-year anniversary approaching for the controversial album Kid A, released in October 2000, I figured it would be worth my time to sit down and review one of my favorites.
A lot of people first exposed to this unusual album, especially those attempting to market it, were put off by the band’s daring shift towards bizarre, electro-ambient music. Since I admittedly was not listening to Radiohead during the time of the release, I was able to learn a lot in the last couple months from researching the history of this production and promised myself to dive into it with an open mind.
Radiohead kicks the album off with a track perfectly illustrating their intentions, with no apologies or disclaimers. The opener entitled “Everything in its Right Place,” a fascinating but eerie song, guided along only by droning synthetic chords and snippets of Thom Yorke’s nonsense poetry, allegedly drawn from a hat.
Though I enjoy the song for what it is, I can understand how the complete absence of guitar, bass, and drums might have been extremely upsetting for Radiohead fanatics. The album soon moves on to the title track, which continues the ambient pattern, with a relaxing keyboard melody, flourishes of psychedelia, and a bass from underwater.
This is then followed by the abrupt start of the album’s most rousing number, “The National Anthem,” which features an outrageous barrage of brass instruments heaped on top of a driving bass line and loud cymbal crashes; these factors thrown together make the song a highlight of Kid A.
Though it presents a strong first half, the latter portion of the album suffers somewhat from filler songs, including the oceanic “Treefingers,” a track good for crawling into a peaceful headspace but pretty boring otherwise.
“Optimistic” saves the day by lifting the album out of what could have been an ambient wasteland and propelling it to greatness. Lyrics like “If you try the best you can, the best you can is good enough” embody the altogether ironic and droll nature of the album. “Idioteque” is the final highlight I will mention, a song consisting of upbeat synthetic drums and a melody that stirs images of androids in a distant future.
All in all, I will say that if you’re not familiar with Radiohead’s discography or you only recognize them by the song “Creep,” Kid A might be a challenging listen for you. But otherwise, if you’re willing to set aside any precognitions you may have about electronica or avant-garde music, then this album will provide an experience that is soothing, exciting, and progressive all at the same time.