A frankly mad 6th album from one of the best British bands ever. (Hail To The Thief - Radiohead)

Member Name: MattJames

Product:	Hail To The Thief - Radiohead
Date:	05/11/09 (8 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Mad, eclectic, eccentric

Disadvantages: The genre changes could be jarring to some.

Coming after Radiohead's double-suite departure of Kid A and Amnesiac, this was always going to be a sticking point for many fans. Do they carry on virtually guitarless, or make a full blown rock record. This floats comfortably in the middle, never quite as out and out rock as Paranoid Android or Just, but never as eccentric as Idioteque. This though, gives the band breathing space, creating their secret masterpiece.

While it is true that I am a Radiohead fan, and a big one at that, this album truly has everything. 2+2=5 opens the album in explosive fashion, Thom Yorke sounding as impassioned as ever "Oh go and tell the king that the sky is falling in", before rolling into sit down stand up, which sounds more like an Amnesiac song, with its glitchy beats. Sail to the Moon is truly touching, Thom becomes a magician at the breadth of a piano. Where I end and you begin and the gloaming are two more highlights, both fairly different pieces of work for the band. The gloaming sounds like Kid A's bad twin in the attic. The album meanders between many genres violently while still making an almost seamless transition between them. That is Radiohead's brilliance.

If you're a fan of a band creating an eclectic and dark mix of sounds , unpredictable and as passionate as ever, this album is for you. Not as polarizing as Kid A, not as accessible, this is the cool cousin of both.

Summary: rankly mad 6th album from one of the best British bands ever.