Albums by this artist

Radiohead catapulted out of its early stages of successful normalcy to create a masterwork of a sophomore album that belongs in the upper echelon of anthemic rock. From the sound of wind blowing inside an amplifier that introduces the record, to the somber fingerpicking of its fade out, The Bends shines with imagination, innovation, and verve.

The pretentious "Planet Telex" opens the album in an uplifting fashion, followed by the majestic, severe title track, which juxtaposes modern imagery ("alone on an aeroplane / fall asleep against the window pane") alongside universal longing ("i wanna live, breathe / i wanna be part of the human race") in the context of a smashing rock hook.

Singles "High And Dry" and "Fake Plastic Trees" bring the album into its meaty middle, displaying Radiohead's sudden mastery of the pop song. Not made of otherworldly chords or wholly unfamiliar melodies, the tunes somehow capture what's good about everyone else's pop singles and present them through a maverick paradigm. Oddly, although both songs made inroads on U.S. rock radio, neither are particularly indicative of the album's true scope.

Indeed, the real heart of The Bends can be found in the two songs at its center: "Just," and "My Iron Lung." The latter provided a real turning point in Radiohead's sound and ambition when it was issued as the lead track of a seven-song EP prior to The Bends' release.

Both tracks feature energetic rock hooks with reserved verses and biting choruses. But when they really step up, both travel into overwhelming vortexes of sound, where Ed O'Brien and Jonny Greenwood's careening guitar lines mesh with Thom Yorke's anguished wails to create a pointed epiphany. Deep inside these rockers lie some of the most invigorating moments of '90s music.

Luckily for the listener, the pair is buffered by the meditative ballads "(nice dream)" and "Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was." But The Bends doesn't fade away that easily. "Black Star" and "Sulk" lead the album down its slide with hues of experience and reminiscence blended with soaring hooks, involved guitar interplay, and some of Yorke's most inspiring vocals.

The melancholy endgame of The Bends is its topper. "Street Spirit (fade out)" is the coolest album closer to come along in a long while, with its somber minor-key fingerpicked progression supporting Yorke's exquisitely wistful moan. The song treads a perilous edge of melody before slipping off into a current of strings and floating into the slipstream. The record ends with Yorke intoning one last poignant statement: "IMMersE your soUL in LOVE."

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.