Radiohead - Hail To The Thief
Hello everyone, welcome back to my blog. Today, I will be reviewing Radiohead's most political album, Hail To The Thief. This was the last record Radiohead would release under EMI's 6 album deal. Let's see how they would end their contract...
We start with the moody 2+2=5. We open with some quiet guitar plucks, and Thom's usual voice. But then, it suddenly turns into a full on rock song. Then we get into a strummed guitar section, with some very paranoid sounding vocals. A very chaotic opener, but it sets the tone for the rest of the record.
Next we have Sit Down. Stand Up, which opens with a quiet drum machine, xylophone-like plucks and atmospheric strings. The song is very quiet and ambiental for the first half. Then the Everything In It's Right Place vocals come in, with the weird pitch shifted effects. Slowly we spiral into another chaotic crescendo, similiar to the opener. The percussion goes crazy and Thom just keeps repeating "the raindrops".
Sail To The Moon is a calmer song which focuses mostly around a gentle electric guitar and a piano. Thom sings in a very soft and gentle way, and alongside the drums, this song has a very jazzy sound.
Backdrifts is a groovy, mostly electronic driven song. Nothing outstanding, but it wasn't bad either.
Go To Sleep is the closest thing we will get to a country version of Radiohead. The guitars sound like they have a Southern accent. Another pretty nice song.
Where I End And You Begin is definetly one of my favourite songs on the album. I love the pads in the pre-chorus. The guitar creates a very nice groove, and the chorus is really fun. The whole song has a really ethereal vibe.
We Suck Young Blood focuses around mostly Thom's vocals, a piano, a clap driven beat. They occasionally bring in a guitar, but that's about it. Not a bad song.
The Gloaming is nothing special. The first song in this album I didn't like.
There, There is one of the best songs on here. It has a slower beat, but the percussion is much heavier, the guitar has a very nice distortion, quite warm in fact. The vocals also sound a bit reverberated which create a unique for the song.
I Will is a mellow interlude, with a surprisingly sad atmosphere. Not much else to comment on here.
A Punch Up At A Wedding is more of the same, but still a great song.
Myxomatosis is one of the band's heaviest songs. The guitars sound so thicc and fuzzy. At points, Thom's vocals are buried under the wall of sound. And the live version is just hillarious.
Scatterbrain reminded me a lot of OK Computer. The acoustic guitars were the main reason it reminded me a lot, but the vocals were also close to that feel.
A Wolf At The Door closes the album on a bit of a menacing note. Thom's vocals are much raspier and deeper, and they close off the album in a pretty dark way.
Overall, the album was pretty good. Almost every song on here has at least one noteworthy thing about them, and even though it's a bit long, it's not bad at all. Did not except to enjoy it as much as I did.
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