Band continues to reinvent alternative sound in album

  MICHAEL JENNINGS A fan meditates at Campus Events’
Radiohead listening party, waiting to hear the band’s new album
"Amnesiac," that will be released June 5.

By Antero Garcia
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Radiohead continues to reign as the alternative to
“alternative” music.

On Tuesday, the Campus Events Commission hosted a special
Radiohead listening party in Kerckhoff Grand Salon. The event
offered die-hard fans and casual listeners alike the opportunity to
hear the band’s fifth album, “Amnesiac,” a month
before its official release date of June 5.

The event had a strange ambiance as a clear division could be
seen in the attendees. Half of the people at the event were devoted
Radiohead fans who, adorned in Radiohead merchandise, silently and
intently listened to the previewed tracks. The rest of the people
treated the event more as a common social gathering and chatted
away as some of the best in modern music was lost beneath their
conversations.

The forthcoming release is a surprising contrast to “Kid
A,” though the two albums were primarily recorded at the same
time. Eager fans shouldn’t expect the traditional
“alternative” sound with which Radiohead gained its
initial popularity.

Comprised of 11 tracks, “Amnesiac” comes off as a
clash between the band’s current electronica-esque sound and
the spacey rock of the “OK Computer” era.

The album begins with the techno rhythm of “Packt Like
Sardines In a Crushd Tin Box.” Aside from the pounding beat
that contrasts with the “Kid A” opener,
“Everything In Its Right Place,” the song is also a
surprise in that singer Thom Yorke’s vocals are coherent and
not distorted. When Yorke sings “After years of waiting
nothing came,” the words are a chilling reminder of the
themes underlying “Kid A.”

In fact much of “Amnesiac,” plays like a response to
the apocalyptic sounds of the previous album. In place of the eery
smiling bear logo of “Kid A” is what looks like a
crying hedgehog. Also, where the previous album included lyrics and
blurbs about the melting of the polar ice caps, the music video for
“Pyramid Song,” shows a flooded world. In one sense,
“Amnesiac” is the aftermath of “Kid A.”

In addition to its stunning video, “Pyramid Song,”
is also a magnificent song. Filled with vibrant and languorous
piano chords and Yorke’s eery wails, the song is haunting and
a headache for any music scholar. The time signature of
“Pyramid Song” is unlike anything else out there. From
one listen, the timing is impossible to figure out.

Another immediate gem off of the album is the bluesy “You
and Whose Army?” The song begins with the quiet ambiance of
only Yorke’s crooning and bassist Colin Greenwood. However,
as the song progresses, it reaches an intense crescendo of drums
and brash noise that leaves Yorke fighting to be heard above the
wall of dissonance.

This same type of crescendo can be heard in a later song on the
album, “Dollars and Cents,” which features tribal
drumming beats and a long, drawn out buildup of tension.

Another song that has dissonance in its sound is
“Amnesiac/ Morning Bell.” A remake of “Morning
Bell” from “Kid A,” the song sounds completely
new. Where the original had a upbeat sound, the
“Amnesiac” version sounds very dreary and stagnant.

Of all of the new songs previewed on Tuesday, the one that is
most unique is the album’s closer, “Life in a Glass
House.” The song is incredibly depressing in sound and again
features York on piano as he dismally sings, “Once again
I’m in trouble.” The song is filled with trumpet and
trombone smears which are very different from the horn section that
was featured in the “Kid A” song “National
Anthem.”

Last October, “Kid A” went to No. 1 on the charts
with no singles, music videos or mainstream marketing. With all of
the current promotions for “Amnesiac,” it will be
interesting to see if Radiohead can maintain its position as the
art-rock god of musical coolness.