HAIL TO THE THIEF

After the really depressing Amnesiac, could Thom (and more importantly the group's fans) take another shot of depression he had imposed on everyone? Well, no need to jump on the rest of your codeine pills (but keep them handy, you never know ;-): this album is somewhat "cheerier" or not as suicidal (and accessorily more accessible) and it represents a sort of return to form bringing us back a bit more towards the OK Computer days.

Yet Hail to The Thief is again not that easily digestible, remaining a hard bit to swallow and come out unscathed. Still "plagued" with semi post-rock and trip-hop ambiances, Yorke's bleak and gloomy world is still deeply depressive, vindictive (almost spiteful), reclusive and lonely. Somehow, I am still wondering how the Greenwood manage to stick around with having so few to say, crushed by Yorke manic songwriting totalitarianism. There are the usual traps that Thom & Co loves to sprinkle throughout the album (double song title, refusal to number their tracks, no: I personally think those are intentionally sprayed around to give the music a little more depth therefore hiding a bit its hollowness.

While this album is much more successful (artistically speaking anyway), this remains rather impenetrable quickly and personally I do not think most of Radiohead's later albums are worth the time investment unless you want to become an "emo" as Thom seems so happy to be pleased to stagnate in. But then again, since he finds a way to remain in the spotlight and do what he likes, who am I to disagree?