Published on Jul 12, 2004
Is
Amnesiac — a.k.a.
Kid B — as good as
Kid A? One thing is for sure;
Kid B would’ve been disc two had
Kid A been a double album.
Amnesiac contains the residual tracks which didn’t make it;
hence, it is just an extension of
Kid A. So, how much does
Amnesiac weigh against its predecessor? What could’ve been
disc two” couldn’t be far off from “disc one,” could it? Well,
Amnesiac is as machine-like, as de-humanized, as alienated,
and as synthetically yours, as
Kid A.
This unmoving album starts off with “Packt Like Sardines In A
Crushed Tin Box”: a perfect track to admonish the listener of the
hostilities following it; and yes, as usual, singer Thom Yorke does
sound as if he is an alien in some Steven Spielberg movie. As if
exemplifying the parody of our so-called ‘civilized’ society, this
song is followed up by a hauntingly sweet, melodious and very
human-like “Pyramid Song.” It is probably Radiohead’s way of
contradicting the opening track. But, Radiohead couldn’t carry on
much without de-humanizing their songs, could they? From the third
song (whose crazy beat Missy Elliot would appreciate) onwards, the
album drapes itself with deliberate discomfort into a self-spun
cocoon, alienating itself as much as possible from our evil planet
and a couple of others around it.
The album progresses, getting more and more irritatingly
illegible until one eventually gets to know the genius of this
band. Radiohead proves that they can be brilliant musicians,
producing sounds which seem as un-music-like as possible, giving a
whole new dimension to musicality.
In the midst of all the disorientation of the album suddenly
blossom “I Might Be Wrong” and “Knives Out”, assuring that Amnesiac
is an album created by humans of our age, not by the people of the
future playing around with their time machines to get a taste of
the primitive age of 2001. It is unbelievable how the band segues
in a trice to real sound amidst their bombardment of surrealistic
ones.
Kid A was a very brave effort by Radiohead, something which
they — or as a matter of fact — no other band has done before.
Amnesiac, the follow-up, doesn’t conjure up that much of an
element of surprise, since its offbeat
Kid A-ish sound was expected of it. So, even though it
doesn’t seem as special as
Kid A,
Amnesiac is an essential addition to it, surely not to be
done without. In fact, neither
Amnesiac nor
Kid A seems complete without the other.