Radiohead -- Go to Sleep
Thom Yorke -- Vocals/guitar
Ed O'Brien -- Guitar
Jonny Greenwood -- Guitar
Colin Greenwood -- Bass
Philip Selway -- Drums
It's time for an overhaul of a very subpar review I did a very long time ago.
With
Hail to the Theif, Radiohead blended styles of their previous albums to get a very unique-sounding record produced. Many fans wanted them to revert back to the guitar anthems of
The Bends or the genius of
OK Computer. They thought albums like
Kid A were too artsy; too electronic to be good albums to listen to. Still, there were others who wanted this electronic sound, claiming it to be the true pinnacle of Radiohead's genius. Thus,
HTTT blended these into a very cool, though sometimes very creepy album. However, one track,
Go to Sleep stood out as a song that could have fit onto an older album of theirs such as
The Bends. As with all of their previous efforts, Radiohead left some very strong material for B-Sides with the new album.
Go to Sleep features some very well-crafted songs that would suit a fan of Radiohead's earlier material. First, there is the title track itself,
Go to Sleep. Political in nature, this song is mostly driven by a loosely arpeggiated acoustic guitar, though there is a heavier breakdown towards the end of the song. The other songs on this EP follow the same suit.
Gagging Order is a very pretty acoustic ballad that features Thom Yorke alone with his guitar. I find it very similar to "Lozenge of Love" from their other excellent EP,
My Iron Lung. The last song,
I Am A Wicked Child, is a very groovy, bluesy song. It steadily gains force and tension as the song progresses, and it is an excellent piece to go along with the other two songs.
This album demonstrates that Radiohead can still put out great rock songs that hearken back to their older style. It also shows how they can make some of the best B-Sides in the business; ones that are strong enough to actually compete with their 'real' material. If you're a fan, I highly recomment this album. I would rate it higher than a 4, but since there are only three songs, that is as high a rating I will give it. I hope this helps out some.
