Radiohead has some pretty big shoes to fill - their own. The reclusive and decidedly brilliant band has made a career of putting out excellent albums such as "The Bends" and "Kid A" while simultaneously garnering a massive fan base and multi-platinum record sales with little aid from mainstream outlets such as MTV.
But the real question surrounding the long-awaited new release "Hail to the Thief" is whether it lives up to the standard set by the band on its previous releases.
To answer this question in its simplest form, "Hail to the Thief" is not as sonically pleasing and thoroughly enjoyable as "Kid A," "OK Computer" or "The Bends." That's not to say it's a bad album by any means. In fact, with its diverse style and interesting mix of high energy and somber reflection, it's an excellent album.
Even though it does not measure up to the bar set by the aforementioned albums, it stands on its own, just missing the crossover point between excellence and greatness.
"Hail to the Thief" opens with a bang on "2+2=5 (The Lukewarm.)" The song's melodic, abstract and decidedly mellow intro unexpectedly explodes into solid rock 'n' roll.
Vocalist Thom Yorke asserts this as he bellows"Don't question my authority or put me in the dock. Cozimnot!" while the song's musical elements push toward a grabbing crescendo, redeeming his status as a rocker despite Radiohead's recent eclecticism.
Similarly, "Sit Down. Stand Up. (Snakes & Ladders.)" jumps rapidly from morose, piano-driven sadness into a solid, electronic-twinged groove as Yorke repeats "the raindrops" over and over.
Sure it's a bit redundant, but the overall payoff of the music makes up for the vocal repetition.
The album's true gem, though, is "There there. (The Boney King of Nowhere.)" Opening with a spooky, almost tribal drum and bass groove, and quickly escalating into "Paranoid Android's" territory of epic rock, the song drifts between mellow and upbeat with the greatest of ease, conveying a wide range of emotions while wisely keeping the groove in its pocket.
But there are some very specific points on "Hail to the Thief" where the band hits the skids. "Backdrifts. (Honeymoon is Over.)" relies too heavily on electronic effects, which is somewhat interesting yet masks the band's raw musical talent.
Still, it's impossible not to sympathize with Yorke as he croons, "We're rotten fruit/we're damaged goods/what the hell/we got nothing more to lose." The song, at more than five minutes long, lags a bit and becomes a bit muddled in itself.
In the same respect, "The Gloaming. (Softly Open our Mouths in the Cold.)" is so electronic it sounds like video game music.
Non-fans also will be turned off by "We Suck Young Blood. (Your Time is Up.)," a vocally driven piano piece, which comes off like Burt Bacharach on downers as Yorke's high-pitched whining pierces eardrums, making sounds that likely would send all the dogs in your neighborhood into fits of barking.
But, with the funky "A Punchup at a Wedding. (No no no no no no no no.)," the deep-bass groove of "Where I End and You Begin. (The Sky is Falling.)," and the mellow "Scatterbrain. (As Dead as Leaves.)" filling in the gaps, the album's lapses are easily forgotten.
"Hail to the Thief" is by no means a classic - but it comes dangerously close.
