Radiohead Hail To The Thief (2003) Capitol

The buzz surrounding Radiohead's Hail To The Thief is tremendous. Many "insiders" are said that Radiohead is returning to that old Radiohead sound, the sound that made them larger than life, with albums such as OK Computer and Pablo Honey. Radiohead perfected brit-pop with a twist. And the way I look at it, there are 2 opinions when it comes to Radiohead..."Yes, Radiohead is very good and OK Computer was one of the best albums of the 90's" or "OI OI OI RADIOHEAD SUX, THEY DONT EVEN HAVE MOHAWKS! WHERE IS MY CASUALTIES CD?! OI!"

This album brings a level of consistency back to Radiohead, a quality they had been lacking since OK Computer. The album kicks off with2 2=5, which seems to capture the entire album. The true Radiohead sound. Leaving over ambitious experiments behind, Radiohead captures a sound unique only to this album.

Fans will embrace the return to form, after many were let down by Amnesiac's misguided direction, while non-fans will continue to be non-fans. A wrong turn by Radiohead, in the battle to win over non-fans was to release There There as a single, the choice seems poor due to the sheer number of marketable songs on here, more so than There There.

The album has it's highs and lows, although the highs seem to outweigh the lows, while boredom starts to set in midway through, most parts are quickly made up for.

Yes, this album is very good. Although nowhere near as good as the buzz would have you believe, unfortunately it seems as if Radiohead will never meet the mark they set with OK Computer. Fans will love this record, but unfortunately, non-fans won't be won over this time.

(Kevin11)