Radiohead - OK Computer 2LP

Radiohead - OK Computer

'OK Computer, Radioheads third album, is the bombastic follow-up to 1995s sleeper hit The Bends, which left critics and listeners as impressed with the bands ability as they were curious about their potential. In spite of its technological-sounding title and apocalyptic sci-fi themes, OK Computer is firmly grounded in the rock verities. Waves of guitars rage beneath the haunting melodies and near-hysterical fits of singer Thom Yorke.

This complex, intense swarm of guitars is held aloft by a solid, inventive rhythm section and an impressive array of piano and keyboard textures. Paranoid Android is a six-minute-plus epic with alternating time signatures, wild dynamic shifts, drama and adrenaline to spare. Let Down, with its double-tracked vocals and rhythmic throb, may give a brief glimpse back at Radioheads past, but at no point is OK Computer anything but a hurtle forward.