Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Such an easy move. But come on: was there a more artistic, jarring, edgy album released in the 90's without a naked infant on the cover? The answer is unequivocally "no." This is the album quintessential for '90's alt-rock -- THE album. There were anthemic, atmospheric ballads ("High and Dry"), hard-rocking radio tunes ("Just"), and evidence of their growing penchant towards keyboards and a more broad experimentation ("Planet Telex"). The album came out during the height of the '90s Britpop movement, benefiting from renewed press attention to British guitar music. However, in the band's home country, Radiohead's music was rarely grouped with Blur, Pulp and other so-called "Britpop" acts, instead receiving some acclaim for diverging from the fashionable aspects of the scene. This was due praise, as "The Bends" is truly a record without comparison, at least at the time. It was also the first Radiohead album to include production assistance from engineer Nigel Godrich, though its main producer was Abbey Road veteran John Leckie.
It's a classic. Fuck predictability.
Key Tracks: All of them.
Next Week: 1996
Hint: He's white? Seriously?
No comments:
Post a Comment