FIRST REVIEW: Kid A

Finally, I get around to doing something with this. I'll be doing a simple review of Radiohead's Kid A, which I just got yesterday. But I have a few other things to say before that. First of all, there's a new Zelda game coming out which I just learned about today. It's called Spirit Tracks, and the best way to describe it is Phantom Hourglass with trains instead of boats. And that looks to be it.



Wow. Impressive-looking train right there. Okay, so you can't see all of it in that picture, but it still looks horrible. I'm pretty sure the only other car on the train is the one that holds the cannon. Yep, a cannon. Though a cannon-carrying train would sounds amazing to most people, to me it just sounds like even more of a shameless ripoff of PH. Oh yeah, did I mention that you draw the track for the train with your stylus on a map? That certainly sounds new and exciting. Anyway, I thought I'd give a shout out to the guy who first linked me to this article, Canti.

http://thingscantihates.blogspot.com/

Anyway, on to the review.

Kid A is deep. Deep to the level where it's not very accessible. Unlike Radiohead's first three albums, it's not inviting at all, which is apparent from the first two tracks, which may be the two that are hardest to enjoy at first on the album. These are Everything In It's Right Place and the title track. The melodies are very unconventional, and they seem to be purposefully offbeat. But they do invite you into the amazingly bizarre world that is Kid A. Speaking of which, the vocals on the title track are next to impossible to understand. These first two tracks are very arty, and they're growers, so don't worry if you don't get them at first.

Anyway, with the third track, The National Album, we experience a bit of a change. "Is that... a guitar?" Yes. For those alienated from the first two tracks, this... still does a pretty good job of that, but there's actually a good chance of you liking it on the first listen. It's a catchy beat, and a horn section even comes in later in the album. It quickly descends into madness, though, but the good kind.

The fourth track is a fan favorite, and some consider it their best song. I certainly see why they would think that. It's got beautiful strings, a nice guitar (most of the songs from National Anthem on actually do have prominent guitar, luckily for us), and touching lyrics.

And now the album transitional track, Treefingers. It's basically just about three and a half minutes of ambiance. And that's all I really have to say about it. It's not bad, but I wouldn't say it's good, either.

And now we come to Optimistic. This one stood out to me on my first listen, probably because it's the most conventional track so far. Somewhat heavy guitar and nice vocals that aren't really drawn out and somewhat understandable.

Next, In Limbo. A dreamy song with a good guitar melody that no one seems to really like. It's alright. But probably the worst on Kid A other than Treefingers.

Idioteque. Funky beats here. This is also a fan favorite. I don't actually like it all that much. Maybe this is a grower, too? I do like the way the vocals move along on this song. They seem somewhat rushed, yet flawlessly executed.

Ice age coming, ice age coming, let me hear both sides, lemme hear both sides, lemme hear both.

More funky beats dance around as these lyrics and the following are delivered. Then the vocals become more drawn out again and, well, it's actually hard to describe the following parts with brevity because the song seems to switch around a lot.

Morning Bell is a very dreary song. To me, it expresses the monotonous parts of life from the view of a depressed individual who's simply tired of all. It seems like the song will pick up after Thom utters the final "And round...," but it returns to the bleak atmosphere. After more of that, there's a lot of echoes and strange noises. Maybe our poor protagonist is paranoid? The song soon ends on a somber note.

And now, the album closer, Motion Picture Soundtrack. This is even bleaker than the last song. All the lyrics are mumbled and the vocals sound very disheartened. After some vaguely operatic singing in the background, the character delivers the final, somber line of the album.

I will see you in the next life.

If that's not a sad way to end an album, I don't know what is. But wait, we're not done yet. After some silence, some somber ambiance briefly appears and vanishes. Then about another minute of silence, and the album really ends.

Basically, Kid A takes place in its own little world. Well, I shouldn't say little. It's built on towering soundscapes and vast plains of sorrow. I don't think there's even one happy moment on this album. Even the upbeat guitar riffs on, what, two of the songs don't stand a chance against the depressing sounds backing them. It's not an album you immediately like, and it's not really an album you listen to when kicking back in leisure. It's more when you want to think, or simply just take another journey into the world that seems to fade away about as steadily as the four descending notes that start Everything In It's Right Place gently push you into it.