Over the summer, Radiohead had indie rock aficionados more excited than a sugar-happy nine-year-old on his birthday-and all they did was release another album. When the group that is often called the Earth’s most relevant rock band plays, everyone listens. But everyone-from fledgling rock fans to musical trendsetters-wondered what exactly they were listening to when they broke out Radiohead’s latest album, Hail to the Thief.
In their sixth studio album, released on June 10, the five-man band from Oxford produced another study in tension- series of twists, tricks and ironies that causes listeners to assume it is brilliant even though they might not understand precisely what’s going on. But it is Radiohead’s unwillingness to plant their feet that sets them apart from boilerplate pop music.
The ambiguity starts with the album’s title, which frontman Thom Yorke insists has no political message. But considering today’s landscape of botched elections, wars and protests-and the fact that the phrase “Hail to the Thief” was lifted right off popular anti-Bush protest signs-Yorke’s claim is rather unconvincing.
While Radiohead may not have produced an overtly political album, a feeling of alienation and disenfranchisement runs throughout the tracks. Hail to the Thief is reminiscent of the counterculture music of the 1960’s when most songs had no overt message, but their politics were still clear. Hail to the Thief’s song titles are goose bump-inducing: “2+2=5 (The Lukewarm)”, “Go to Sleep (Little Man Being Erased)”, “We Suck Young Blood (Your Time Is Up).” If these aren’t political, Britney Spears is still a virgin.
Yorke’s familiar haunting wails match the album’s equally haunting lyrics. The opening track, “2+2=5 (The Lukewarm)” begins slow and distant, like an echo, with Yorke asking “Are you such a dreamer? To put the world to rights?” After a ploddingly nerve-racking intro, the drum and electric guitar explode and Yorke lets loose: “It’s the devil’s way now / there is no way out / you can scream & you / can shout / it is too late now / because / you have not been / paying attention.” If you’re one of those Georgetown optimists, or a fan of the War on Terror, this might not be the album for you.
Then again, anyone can marvel at the musicianship on Hail to the Thief. Radiohead, a band that waffles between rock and electronica, seems to have mastered a careful balance between the two. Never has the synthesizer jelled so well with the electric guitar. Take “Backdrifts (Honeymoon is Over),” for example, an undeniably electronic track. But, if you listen closely, you’ll catch guitar rifts sprinkled throughout the song that add more dimension than a pair of 3-D glasses. It’s a beautifully crafted duet between traditional rock and the rock of the future that sets the standard for any band attempting to rival these veritable virtuosos.
Even so, the music community has not greeted Hail to the Thief with as much fanfare as it did with Radiohead’s 1997 release, OK Computer. Maybe the album’s ambiguity-from its title to its lyrics to its hybrid sound-has psyched out the critics. Maybe Hail to the Thief is just ahead of its time.
