**** Radiohead -- Kid A
Dreary, downbeat and lethargic. Radiohead follows up the amazing OK Computer with an album that seems to take the more depressing aspects of that release and turns them into a bleak landscape. Thom Yorke's vocals are either of a dreamy quality or filtered beyond recognition. The leap from the almost straightforward Pablo Honey to the artificial construct that is this album is immense. It's a good evolution beyond their previous albums, but as the band treads further and further into Progressive Rock, they seem to find odder and odder means of presenting the sound. The best track is "The National Anthem," which is worth the price of the album alone. The CD booklet sets a new low in the "size to useful information" ratio -- an album with vocals as unclear as this would be well served by a lyric booklet, but nothing is to be found here but "inspirational" (I guess) graphics.
Reviews by A. D. Jensen
