Radiohead

Item: Hail to the Thief
Author: Josh Hurst

Hail to the Thief

(2003)

Reviewed by Josh Hurst

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Label Capitol RecordsThe Rebel Base2003

alternative rock art rock experimental

If nothing else, Radiohead's sixth album, Hail to the Thief, is a smart slap in the face to any detractors who thought the band had dug themselves into a creative hole with their last two records. Kid A and the subsequent Amnesiac were so avant-garde, so cutting edge, and so forward-thinking that some critics feared that Radiohead had no choice but to repeat themselves; leave it to Thom Yorke and Co. to flip them the middle finger and make another giant leap forward in their evolution by brilliantly fusing the twisted guitar rock of OK Computer with the free-flowing electronica of Kid A. The result is simultaneously retro and envelope-pushing, fresh and familiar, and belongs on the shelf beside the band's two previous masterpieces. (Those would be Kid A and OK Computer, by the way).

Birthed during a time of great tension both within the band and all around the world, Hail to the Thief is full of contradictions. It's a manic mood swing of an album, jumping from humor to bitterness to hope to overwhelming depression, sometimes within the course of one song. Recorded between September 2002 and February 2003, the fourteen-song set is a challenging, insightful, and sometimes frightening souvenir from a world fraught with war in the Middle East and unrest over a controversial election back at home. Times are dark indeed; "This is the gloaming," sighs frontman Yorke, referencing the time of day when the lights are starting to fade out. "Your alarm bells should be ringing."

Opener "2+2=5" is dark and spastic, and Yorke is in fine form, snarling and spitting his way into a breathless frenzy. "Don't question my authority or put me in the dock," he snaps like a madman over a furious storm of guitars and drums, instruments that were almost nonexistent on Kid A. The song is Radiohead's most gleeful twitch of energy since "Paranoid Android."

A tinny drum loop leads into the shimmering piano grandeur of "Sit Down, Stand Up," smoothly linking the old Radiohead with the new. Thom's patented angst-ridden moan has rarely been more emotive as he smirks and boasts, "We can wipe you out anytime," a line that may or may not be a reference to President Bush and the war on Iraq; with Yorke, your guess is as good as mine.

The knockout opening trilogy ends with "Sail to the Moon," one of the most beautiful compositions yet in the Radiohead canon. Rarely has Thom seemed more optimistic and hopeful than when he dares to suggest that, "Maybe you'll be president/ but know right from wrong/ Or in the flood you'll build an ark/ and sail us to the moon." It's heartbreaking. It's funny. It's unforgettable.

So is "Where I End and You Begin," a song that coasts along on a delicious bass groove from Colin Greenwood and ends abruptly with Thom's cannibalistic sneer; "I will eat you alive," he vows. But who is the speaker? The government? Hollywood? Thom himself?

In interviews, Yorke has asserted that the tidal wave of drums and guitars that thrash and seer through the album are the sounds of engagement rather than helplessness, but it's still hard to ignore the sea of darkness that envelopes the album. Songs like "2+2=5," "We Suck Young Blood," and "A Wolf at the Door" sound like transmissions from the evening news, abounding in paranoia and Orwellian imagery. "It's the devil's way now/ There is no way out/... Because you have not been paying attention!" Yorke snaps in "2+2=5."

Thom is at his maniacal best here, flip-flopping from anthems of empowerment to helpless songs of impotency. His fear gets the better of him, though, on the album's scorching closer, "A Wolf at the Door": "I keep the wolf from the door/ but he calls me up, calls me on the phone/ tells me all the ways that he's gonna mess me up." It's the most heart-wrenching lyric he's written since "Let Down" and "No Surprises."

These fourteen songs are ambitious, soulful, insightful, and wicked-cool. Radiohead hasn't sounded as melodic or song-oriented since OK Computer, and Thom's songwriting has never been stronger. So while alarm bells should be ringing in most areas of life, these are good times for Radiohead fans. For behold, the reigning kings of rock have just stolen a place in my CD changer, and it will be many moons before they give it back.

Hail to the thieves.