| Product: |
The Bends - Radiohead |
| Date: |
22.06.03 (39 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: as solid and consistant an album out there
Disadvantages: none
The Bends is a beautiful album. Forget Ok Computer, forget Hail To The Thief. In my opinion The Bends is the defining album for Radiohead.
I understand why Ok Computer is regarded as their finest work but there is a certain level of experimenting and emotional distance going on in that album that, for me at least, makes it not as accessible as The Bends (note I don't say its poorer than The Bends).
The Bends really came out at the ideal time. Not so new that it suffered from first album shoddiness but not so established that it sounded boring, overly polished and lacking a raw edge to its sound.
Why do I like it so much? Well I consider myself pretty open minded when it comes to genres and all that business, but rock music is where my main tastes lie. In particular I like rock music that has a certain unique twist to it. Foo Fighters, Oasis, Zwan, etc. They are great bands. I like their sound but they have what I would describe as a safe rock sound. Heavy and loud as it should be but lacking a unique and distinct aspect.
The Bends has this unique sound in abundence. Its difficult to describe as I am not a musician but that sharp, raw guitar sound is Radiohead all over. There is the melancholy and sadness underlying each track also yet strangely it doesnt make everything depressing. Then there is Thom Yorke's voice. I have not heard an artist's voice touch such emotional, melancholic levels since Kurt Cobain (though where Kurt had a gruff angst ridden rattle, Thom drifts into angelic falsetos).
Key tracks for me are the bends, fake plastic trees (beautiful), bones, just (powerful, explosive, sharp), black star and sulk (Thom in operatic chorus mode). In other words half of the album has memorable tracks that I just keep playing and that isnt to say the rest of the album is any poorer, its just my personal music tastes.
If you are interested in Radiohead this is the album to go for. It may be regarded as the second best Radiohead
album but at the very least it comes a close second. Crucially it so much more accessible than Ok Computer.
Summary:
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Last comment:
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nednod - 22.06.03 i'm more of a kid A man myself, i also enjoy listening to the cheeky girls |
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