On my ride home from work today, I noticed the guy beside me pull Radiohead’s new CD, Hail to the Thief, from his bag, about to pop it in to his discman. Being a chatty guy, I asked him what he thought of it. He said he loved it, and thought it was one of the best discs to have come out this year. However, he then brought up how he disliked the amount of promotion it was receiving from both its record label and the media. He believed their efforts should be used to expose us to up-and-comers rather than a huge name like Radiohead.
I’d have to disagree.
Right from the opening chords of "2+2=5," you know you’re listening to something special. Thom Yorke’s melancholy musings work themselves into a song whose recipe of pop meets experimental is measured to perfection. This clashing of a band who wants to raise the bar of music while staying within the confines of popular form is what makes this album so amazing. Whether it is the glitchy loop of "The Gloaming" on which Yorke moans "Murderers you’re murderers/We’re not the same as you," or the "Holy-fucking-shit, that’s the best bass line I’ve ever heard,*" of "Myxomatosis," the highlights of this album are really only blinding spots on a pure white canvas.
Rudely cutting back to my introduction, I have no idea what that guy was talking about because really, when an album is as perfect in form as this, the hype machine should continue to blare its trumpets and beat people with blunt objects until every single person gets the point: own this album.
* Provided by my wonderful girlfriend, who for some reason hasn’t liked Radiohead until this album.