Kid A
Radiohead
Score:100
Reviewer: Justin Pearsall
Label: Parlophone (UK), Capitol (USA)
Reviewed: Feb 19th '07, Released:2000
First question many had upon hearing Kid A was“Where are the guitars?” Now in the background, their place is taken by fuzzed out keyboards, sampled drums and artificial vocals. Gone are the Radiohead of OK Computer, the most critically adored guitar band of recent memory is now a new beast. While it took some a while to come around to the idea, history has proven the bold step a spectacular success. Kid A is one of the best albums ever made.
Complex and difficult, but also beautiful and captivating, Kid A is the perfect example of a record that reveals itself with future listens. Where on later releases Amnesiac and Hail to The Thief Radiohead get the ratio between experimentation and great songs confused, on this album the band push conventions hard, but for every ‘The National Anthem’ or ‘Morning Bell’, there’s a ‘How To Disappear Completely’ or ‘Optimistic‘ to hold on to. It’s the majestic moments that soften the harsh dissonance of the horn solos, but it’s the whole complex sound that gives the album such a complete and mesmerising identity.
Now a decade on, Kid A has not aged a day. Compared to the rise-and-rise of electronic music, and the use of electro elements in other styles, it still sounds fresher and considerably better than any ‘electronic’ release since its inception. Partly it is the album’s other major musical influences, jazz and classical, that ensures this. While there are some great rock/pop moments on the album, perfectly orchestrated string sections marry parts together and add tenderness to discordant sections. Additionally, the freedom of experimental jazz is everywhere on Kid A. The scattered horn solos recall Charles Mingus and some of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew-era, it is these jazz influences that put real weight to the mania of the album’s blips and bleeps.
Although few would have said it upon release, Kid A may actually be the best Radiohead album. Regardless of whether or not it is Radiohead’s best, Kid A is certainly one of music’s best.
