THE BENDS

Moving beyond the grunge influences of Pablo Honey, Radiohead's The Bends - much like Pulp's discography, or Suede's Dog Man Star - offered a refreshingly different approach to British indie rock than the chripy and (to my ears) rather superficial Britpop approach of the likes of Blur and Oasis. But on top of that, it also sees the band maturing as songwriters and begin moving in the progressive direction which would lead to OK Computer. Pocket symphonies such as Fake Plastic Trees reveal a sneaking fascination for sweeping soundscapes and the use of the rock band as a mini-orchestra, whilst songs like My Iron Lung reveal a tendency towards wild, uncontrollable mood swings; both approaches would reach their apex on OK Computer tracks such as Paranoid Android, but as well as being a blueprint for that approach The Bends is a compelling and entertaining album in its own right.