KID A

Kid A is a huge change from Radiohead's previous release, Ok Computer. Where OK Computer combined alt pop/rock with innovative and experimental music, Kid A experiments with combining alt pop/rock with trip-hop and techno. This might sound a bit unusual, and it is actually. Thom Yorke used to be a Techno DJ before Radiohead though, and many of his influences are other Techno DJ's. The use of bleeps and beats on the album isn't a negative thing I think. The band really created a combination of music styles that works out pretty well.

The album opens with some of Radiohead's best songs ever. "Everything In Its Right Place" is a mellow masterpiece. The song features some great vocals from Yorke and the music is very trip-hop influenced. The title track even could be called Trip-Hop. It features mellow instrumentation and electronic sounding vocals over nice beats. Another excellent Trip-Hop track is "Morning Bell", which features some interesting drums and very nice sounding instrumentation and vocals. "Idioteque" is a song that features lots of Techno influence. A pounding beat is heard, while Yorke sings over it and lots of bleeps can be heard. The track is pretty good though, but might take a while to get used to. Another spacey song is "Treefingers", it's a nice instrumental that stagnates a little bit too much.

The album features some more conventional songs too (though those still are pretty experimental) "The National Anthem" features a striking bassline and interesting sound effects and horn section. The bass sounds a bit flat though, and there are live versions available that sound much more interesting. "Optimistic" is a pretty experimental track, and features some usual Radiohead hooks. It's a very solid song. "In Limbo" is pretty spacey, but not as good as a song like "optimistic". This is definitely one of the less memorable on the album. There are a few songs left to discuss, and there iss a reason for me keeping these to be discussed last. They are some of the most depressing Radiohead songs ever written. "Motion picture Soundtrack" is an unusual track, and doesn't fit with the rest of the album at all in my opinion. I don't like it much at all. "How To Disappear Completely",however, is brilliant. It features some haunting music and Thom Yorke at his best.

Kid A is experimental, and features several of the best Radiohead tracks ever, though also a few pieces that are less interesting. Also I have to say that I found the production a little flat, definitely compared to Ok Computer. Kid A is an excellent album though, and therefore I will rate it with four stars.