PYRAMID SONG

Not the best effort from Radiohead. Although the single Pyramid Song is a really beautiful ethereal tune, the others tracks here are a bit too experimental and lack melody and magic.

I will not concentrate on the title track, as it is the best musical piece from Amnesiac that is truely enchanting and deserves all attention, but rather on the B-Sides. The Amazing Sounds of Orgy's introduction is very similar to Ennio Morricone's Le Clan des Siciliens in an ambient way. The tune sets up a vapourous athmosphere full of mystery, but sounds too flat and to repetitive to really lift off and becomes unfortunately boring. The next track, Trans-Atlantic Drawl, is the most rocky-est here, but is not terribly original and a little choatic. However, the song contains some surprises, like the dissonant guitar and the ambient synthetizer parts, which is very relaxing but arrives too suddenly. The EP ends with Kinetic, maybe the most experimental piece of the record. Mainly acoustic without bizarre sounds rather than a true melody, this tune could have been quite interesting but lacks of consistency.

Pyarmid Song contains transitionnial pieces from the band, sometimes announcing the musical direction that will take their next album, Hail to The Thief. However, the tracks sound a bit lazy and empty. For fans of late Radiohead only. 2,5 stars.

One, as follower of certain band knows almost everything that artist has released, which doesn't mean that one will love everything they create, not at all. I am saying this, because I found this single album as a complete disappointment.

First of all, the "Pyramid Song", has never done anything on me, despite I like Amnesiac, this song may be one of my least favorite on that album, it is not bad, but well, at least to me it isn't good either, I've always found it boring, to say the least. So they decided to make this song as a single of that album, in my personal opinion, this time they failed.

"The Amazing Sounds of Orgy", a title that cannot pass unnoticed, but in the other hand, the song itself can be unnoticed since it is a track that lacks of soul, of a real message, the music has electronic elements, after a minute, it is boring as hell.

"Trans Atlantic Drawl", a completely different song that contrasts to the soft and calm sound of the previous two tracks, this is more aggressive, but unfortunately, it is complete noise to me. If you are used to those intelligent and well composed Radiohead songs, you will be completely disappointed with this track in particular, the first part is especially horrible, the second a bit better.

This single ends with "Kinetic", which may be the most experimental and interesting song here, again using some electronic elements, but this time sounds good. The voice as usual is great and the atmosphere a bit confusing and bizarre, but nice after all.

From all the singles I own and have reviewed, this is by far their worst, I almost never listen to it since its content is a waste of time. If you are a fan, buy it, if not, believe me, stay away from this. One sad star.

"I jumped in the river and what did I see?"

Since this EP is now widely and cheaply available ($2.77 on Amazon mp3 at the time of this review), there is no reason not to pick it up if you're a fan of Radiohead's experimental period. Of course, the EP's title track is one of the true gems of the entire Radiohead catalogue; soaring vocals, unusual rhythm, perfectly placed string arrangements (which were done by band-member Jonny Greenwood and not some hired gun). Of course, you might ask "Why should I get this EP if I already have Pyramid Song on the Amnesiac album?" Well, the remaining three b-sides do have much to offer, but you need kind of a high weirdness threshold. This period in the band's history was marked by a heavy use of electronic effects and unconventional soundscapes, and these are in full force here. No catchy pop songs (except the title track), but I would say this works in its favor because the band lets the electronic textures they have created take the forefront. It would silly to give a four song EP higher than three stars, but there is some great stuff here. Highly recommended.