Alternative Rock: Radiohead - Kid A (2000)

79 / 100

Kid A marks Radiohead’s full metamorphosis ...

Welcome to the 21st century, and let’s greet Radiohead’s fourth album… Kid A.

In this album, Radiohead continues the sound experimentation from their previous work. This time, they use horns, synths, and even ambient elements. With the presence of beautiful pure ambient pieces like “Treefingers” and “Untitled,” I don’t even need to compromise—those two are certainly on the winners’ podium. So, what about the other nine tracks?

“Everything in Its Right Place” opens the record with synth sounds that seem squeezed and stretched throughout the song. The piano and overall arrangement, including drums on “Kid A,” are built in an electronica-like style, while the added waves of ambient synth make it quite suitable as a lullaby. Meanwhile, “Idioteque” sounds more unique and borders on IDM. “The National Anthem” adopts saxophones and trombones, making it easily classified as the only experimental rock track that blatantly leans toward avant-garde/jazz.

Okay, I’ll say it again—I’m not focused on lyrics and won’t discuss them—but “How to Disappear Completely” proves its quality through an incredibly emotional instrumental composition, featuring horns from the previous track at the third minute and, of course, the signature strings performed by the Orchestra of St. John’s. A comparable song is “Motion Picture Soundtrack,” which presents classical-style arpeggios. This track runs only 3:20 since the hidden track is separated.

As for “Optimistic,” “In Limbo,” and “Morning Bell,” they’re not that compelling overall, but still worth a brief mention. “Optimistic” turns into an anthemic song due to its choral section; “In Limbo” features upper-string plucking, making it sound thick and heavy, reminiscent of System of a Down’s “Aerials.” Then, “Morning Bell” feels like a continuation of “Idioteque,” with the addition of banjo-like guitar playing—yeah, experimental.

So, what’s the verdict? Is this album—also cited on Wikipedia under the history of post-rock—better than OK Computer? Maybe yes. It's because there’s clear progress here through three songs that pierced my heart deeper than any from the previous three albums.