OK COMPUTER

Radiohead abandons its British pop-rock ship and decides to do something much more adventurous with less than fabulous results. Ok Computer has a very unique sound to it that imitators have failed to capture or reproduce yet. Each song has virtually no evidence of a chorus and are laden with layers and layers of soundscapes adding a technological feel and atmosphere to the album. These soundscapes, a vast majority of the time, do nothing but bore me. They impart a cold technical feel to the album, and are often times rather unnecessary for establishing a mood which Thom Yorke does perfectly well himself. The compositions also tend to lull the listener into a rather dream-like state of bored depression. Few tracks manage to genuinely move me, and the overt depression of the album begins to take its toll after repeated listening.

Radiohead really make a big jump in their writing from The Bends to Ok Computer, but they do so at a large cost. The resulting music is indeed more complex and deeper than their previous work, but it also loses the appeal it once had, and the power to entertain the listener is also lost. However, the album does touch on moments of indisputable genius such as the fade out to Paranoid Android, and the whole of Karma Police and No Surprises. Overall they serve to even out this to a mediocre outing of 2.5 stars.