Kid A is the fourth studio album from English rock band Radiohead. This album marked a huge turning point musically for the band as they turned to a more electronic sound; mixing in elements of experimental rock and ambient sound. The album still maintains Radiohead's melancholic overtones the band made famous with albums such as "Pablo Honey" and "OK Computer", yet orchestrates the emotions in a new way that uniquely lays out Thom Yorke's message; giving listeners the first glance at what Radiohead eventually matures into.
Of course with a new direction musically, disagreements and turmoil within the band slowly rose to the surface. With the success of their previous album "OK Computer" Yorke felt the band hit a musical dead-end. Yorke feared the band being classified as a "one-trick pony" while their old style of guitar based rock music wasn't cutting it for him anymore. Instead of guitars, the band put sounds, samples, and rhythms at the forefront while Yorke's voice was merely another instrument blended into the mix. Other member of the band were skeptical of the new direction considering how successful they've become sticking to their roots; but through experimentation and the courage it took to completely knock down and rebuild what they've erected, "Kid A" shines bright in a world afraid of change.
The album's opener "Everything In Its Right Place" submerges you into this new world of Radiohead by bashing you over the head with sounds coming from every direction imaginable. The lyrics are droning as you are placed into an odd, alien-like environment, wondering what else is going to pop up around you, or surprise you. The track "The National Anthem" is hard-hitting, jazz influenced, and accompanied by an addicting bass line too. The song eventually erupts into jazz overload as horns and trumpets invade the song as Yorke screams at the top of his lungs "Turn it off!".
We are then taken from one extreme from another as the song "How To Disappear Completely" goes back to Radiohead's emotionally driven, guitar based roots in the style of a song like "Karma Police" mixed in with some beautifully stunning string instruments; blending spectacularly well with Yorke's tortured, straining voice. The song "Treefingers" is entirely instrumental and serves a calming purpose as the first half of the album could be sensory overload the first time you listen through.
The album drops right back into the grungey "Optimistic" in which Yorke chants repetitively "You can try the best you can" over a heavy bass line. The track is very full in the musical spectrum and although it speaks a strong message, the song is very straight-forward in nature (not in a bad way). I also really enjoyed the last 20 seconds or so of the track. It ends with a catchy little jazz session that nicely transitions into the next track "In Limbo". "In Limbo" wasn't a track that spoke to me as much as I would like but it served its purpose as another track that Yorke could experiment with. The mixture of different sounds, and the voice altering towards the end of the track was a unique, yet somewhat forgettable moment on the album for me.
"Idioteque" is good look at what the future of the band beheld. The catchy trip-hop beats at the beginning of the track, the fast paced yet slow, depressing, driving beats into your ear drums gives you a definite impression that this band has crossed over to something completely different; yet have fully accomplished what they intended to do. The last two tracks feature some of the more experimental moments on "Kid A". "Morning Bell" features more trip-hop, driving beats that are complimented with Yorke's emotional performance. This song is very lyrically focused as you're simultaneously sucked into every new sound the band produces. The mixture of sounds build up very slowly yet do not climax. Instead, the song ends with some low bass notes as we move on to the final song on the album. "Motion Picture Soundtrack" is a beautiful send-off for an album shrouded in mystery and anticipation. "Motion Picture Soundtrack" brings the album down perfectly in a relaxing, ever so gentle way. The organs on the track are stunning and they bring up many emotions in the process. The lyrics speak of a longing of how things used to be. About how we get fed all these lies through movies and media, while Yorke believes its all crazy talk. He very fittingly ends the song with the line "I will see you in the next life", perfectly describing the bands situation and transition into this new, more artistic direction.
Final Summary:
"Kid A" is a very emotionally moving experience. The use of new electronic sounds rather than guitar-focused rock music gives the band the fresh start that it needed; maintaining its humanity in an electronicly new landscape. The delicately produced new sounds showed a glimpse into the future of the band, and in my opinion, the better half of the career of Radiohead. This was essentially the tipping point for the band that helped produce future albums such as "In Rainbows" and "The King of Limbs". I feel "Kid A" is a very important album but just like any new venture, it won't be fully developed right from the beginning as this primordial album is the first album of its kind for Radiohead. "Kid A" is a surreal experience forcefully stepping Radiohead into the direction they were meant to follow and is fully deserving of all the acclaim the album received.
Rating: 8.7/10
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