Using the textured soundscapes of
The Bends as a launching pad,
Radiohead delivered another startlingly accomplished set of modern guitar rock with
OK Computer. The anthemic guitar heroics present on Pablo Honey and even
The Bends are nowhere to be heard here.
Radiohead have stripped away many of the obvious elements of guitar rock, creating music that is subtle and textured yet still has the feeling of rock & roll. Even at its most adventurous -- such as the complex, multi-segmented "Paranoid Android" -- the band is tight, melodic, and muscular, and
Thom Yorke's voice effortlessly shifts from a sweet falsetto to vicious snarls. It's a thoroughly astonishing demonstration of musical virtuosity and becomes even more impressive with repeated listens, which reveal subtleties like electronica rhythms, eerie keyboards, odd time signatures, and complex syncopations. Yet all of this would simply be showmanship if the songs weren't strong in themselves, and
OK Computer is filled with moody masterpieces, from the shimmering "Subterranean Homesick Alien" and the sighing "Karma Police" to the gothic crawl of "Exit Music (For a Film)."
OK Computer is the album that establishes
Radiohead as one of the most inventive and rewarding guitar rock bands of the '90s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine