Amnesiac

It goes without saying that I'm a music nerd, but I am especially interested in song structure and music theory wizardy. For that reason I have always wanted to like Radiohead more than I do. The problem is, they are a fucking BUMMER. This album for some reason is a little less grimy than others, very cohesive too. Another that would be well suited as a soundtrack/score. Technically very impressive. WAY better than most of what was being released in 2001. I think I'll save my 5/5 for OK Computer. Highlights on this one are You and Whose Army and I Might Be Wrong. Like Spinning Plates really got my music nerd juices flowing back in the day. They recoreded it in reverse?!

Really not sure if I “get” this album yet and ive got more questions than answers. All of that said, it was a solid listen and a good & big step for me into Radiohead beyond The Bends. Very entrancing stuff. To start, Pyramid Song’s rhythm is so tastefully janky. I cant describe why it doesn’t bother me despite sticking out so much I love how ambitious this is compared to Kid A. Songs like Hunting Bears and Like Spinning Plates are wayyyy out there and just as fucking cool IMO as hits like How To Disappear Completely on Kid A were Side note: im always amazed when I read about bands that manage to pump out so much material that they have to delay songs to a future album or simply throw them out all together. It feels cheap to record two albums at once, but the quality here is crazy high

Very interesting clang-y percussion pattern to set things off in typical Radiohead fashion Really like the rhythm of Packt - Thom's warbly vocals are really cool Lots of really cool sound design shit going on Pretty lyrically repetitive - fine for an intro but I'd like to see a bit more variety Really cool piano and different time signature to switch things up Thom giving a really good vocal performance on this one Nice little jazzy drum breakdown - goes from really simplistic to quite a bit going on with strings in the background and stronger lyrically in my opinion - still simple but more powerful Really cool sampled beat pattern - love the alternating filters Thom sounds like an android due to the processing Simplistic but makes for a sonically interesting interlude overall Like the softer switch-up to contrast Revolving Doors Gives off an almost 40s jazz vibe Nice breakdown and another good Thom performance Drums combined with that slamming piano really carries the breakdown Noticing a pattern of lyrical simplicity on this - not necessarily a negative thing though Really switching the vibe up to almost blues-adjacent guitar and a nice little bit-crushed beat - grooviest track so far Cool reverb on vocals Nice subtle groove progression - almost a bit like a dance track Outro is sick - phasery effects sound fucking awesome against Thom's warbling Easily best track so far Vibe change again - slow indie rock groove Nostalgic yet eerie Love it when Thom sustains notes - probably his best vocals on the album Pretty cold and grotesque lyrics to match the instrumental Really simple instrumental again but it works pretty well with this one Spooky ass lyrics again Instrumental is pure sex with Thom's falsetto Somewhere between a horror movie soundtrack and angelsong Most unique track so far Properly cinematic - lots of reverb, delay Another damn good surprisingly hard breakdown - just pure chaos Maybe would've put this against a softer track after Amnesiac for a contrast but whatever Really nice percussive work Cool instrumental but also kind of dull - there's not really a lot going on to benefit the album's flow Love that reversed percussion loop Really cool intro on this one - could've been a separate track instead of Hunting Bears Very cinematic and rich sound again but it's slightly bland compared to some of the other sound experimentation Jazzy instrumentation is fucking sick Sounds funky and ominous simultaneously Crazy good breakdown on this Builds the project to a nice crescendo - 2nd best track

Experimental but still accessible. It’s weird and claustrophobic and Radiohead start to disappear up their own orifice here, but ‘Amnesiac’ is still engaging and interesting. It was meant to be the second part of a double album with ‘Kid A’, but releasing it separately ultimately helped both records. ‘Kid A’ stands stronger on its own, and ‘Amnesiac’ becomes its own distinct entity, taking on a life of its own that might’ve been lost as part of a combined release. I like this album, but I can definitely see why many wouldn’t.

Not the best album of theirs, but definietly still top tier. Most underrated band ever. Completely unforgettable

Despite enjoying The Bends, OK Computer and Kid A when they came out, I somehow missed Amnesiac until this project made me listen to it. I'm not sure why that happened. Maybe I heard "Pyramid Song", didn't really like it, and forgot to check out the rest of the album. 24 years on, I still don't care for "Pyramid Song," but I have chalked this up to a Me Thing. The album properly starts for me with "You And Whose Army?" and I enjoy every song from that point to varying degrees, with the exception of the instrumental "Hunting Bears." There is a cohesion here, and I suspect I enjoy listening to these songs in contrast with each other more than I would listening to them piecemeal. Anyway, I'm happy I got around to this album. There's a whole lot more to say about this period of Radiohead's career, but I'll circle back when the project gets to Kid A.

This is a good album but has as few bits that don't hit as strong. With a few edits this could be a 5.

So impossible to separate this from Kid A, which is a top 5 all time album for me. Still a lot of good stuff here and such a unique record that really sets a mood it's definitely grown on me over the years. I'm wondering what the legacy and reception of this record is if it's just released straight up as a double album with Kid A, but I think it would more just tarnish Kid A's reputation than bolster this one. The jazzy soloing in life in a glasshouse is sick as fuck and pyramid song and pulk/pull and you and whose army are underrated. But definitely not Radioheads best and it does drag a bit.

Heel vet

Radiohead is one of my fav bands, but this is not their best album. I have not listened to this album in a while, and it surprised me. Pyramid Song is a fucking work of art. There is nothing like music made by them.

I listened to this through my headphones after a few drinks and it was an amazing experience. So many beautiful elements of production coming together to make such cool sounds. I guess in terms of the songs themselves, they are good but nothing stood out too much and there's nothing really earworming this morning.

Ніколи не міг позбутися відчуття, що це бісайди до Kid A, хоч тут і дуже високого рівня матеріал є

Finally some Radiohead!!!! 😎 this isn’t my favourite album by Radiohead but damn it still slaps. Something about Thoms voice and the strange but addictive instrumentation constantly shines through the Radiohead discography and is not missing here. This was my first time really doing a deep dive into Amnesiac and I was really missing out. The experimental and spacey sounds of this album along with the dramatic vocals are extremely well done. Hunting bears was an interesting addition to Amnesiac and kinda put me in a trance. Definitely a lot of keepers in this album.

Growing up my parents owned 2 Radiohead CDs, this and OK Computer. It wasn't until I was in highschool that I discovered Radiohead was more than Paranoid Android and Pyramid Song. I'm eating a bag of nachos and trying to keep the cheese dust off the keyboard. I owe Radiohead that much.

Radiohead, I love you. Realistically, this is probably the weakest RH album of the ones that have been included on this list. Even still, it's a 4. They're just that good, man. How extraordinary is it that a group of extras from the Kid A sessions, wisely deemed inappropriate for that album, could be smacked together in a release of their own and STILL be a certified platinum masterpiece? Fuck me man, these guys were incredible. And no, it's not perfect: it does feel less cohesive, there are a couple duds, and the energy never quite builds like you'd want it to. But it's intelligent, haunting, depressing, and downright good music. Thom Yorke, have my babies. Fave tracks: - Packd Like Sardines In a Crushd Tin Box - Pyramid Song - Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors - You And Whose Army? - I Might Be Wrong - Dollars and Cents - Life In a Glasshouse

Rv/g

My first instance of listening to a second album by a band during this exercise, I quite liked it

Noodly and a bit adrift but not at all unpleasant.

its Radiohead so...

Radiohead is my guilty pleasure band and I do have to quote the melon in saying that this feels like a Kid A B-Sides album. Some very good material on here though, but it just doesn’t have that red thread

The album where Radiohead gave up enunciating

This album contains some of Radiohead's best songs but i can't shake the Kid-A B-sides vibe it gives. Still a great album though!

Not up there with The Bends and OK Computer but still Radiohead which makes it worth a listen from time to time.

Not my favorite Radiohead album, but still pretty great.

Bits have aged poorly, but most of it sounds so fresh still.

Not my favourite of there’s but good for fall

Alternating between fever dream and the revolution, 70/30 split.

Certainly not the strongest material from Radiohead. Recorded in the same sessions as Kid A, this album is considered to be its predecessor B side's. The songs on this record go for the same aesthetics and expereimention with electronic music as the other one, but they aren't as fulfilling in terms of ideas or emotions. Still, this album, like any other Radiohead record, is incredibly well textured and also one of the moddiest albums I had heard from them. It contains a very dense, eerie and sad atmosphere which made this a very unique experience, even for Radiohead. So while this may be the weakest project from them in the list, I can say that I enjoyed it a lot.

A bit biased as a big RH fan, but overall outstanding album especially given that its B-sides from Kid A sessions.

Solid

I love a few of these songs, but this is not one of my favorite Radiohead albums.

Great album but better ones from Radiohead are to come.

I’ve been avoiding this album for years because I had a bad first impression of it back in the day. Surprisingly brilliant. Maybe I just had to grow up a bit to appreciate it

Marvellously inventive band. An album not to be missed

I love Radiohead and this album, although not my favourite by them, it still top notch. It's the soundscapes, the creativity in the details, or sometimes the melody. I get why it may not "click" with some people but it definitely does with me.

Radiohead, a band I could listen to over and over again. I haven't heard this album before but I really did enjoy listening to it. Knives Out was my favorite track and I am glad that I got to experience that song. I never get tired of Radioheads music so this is an automatic 4 for me. It's not my favorite Radiohead album by far but it really was memorable and captivating.

I always preferred Amnesiac to Kid A, but still a pretty-listening glance at the tracklist didn’t fill me with optimism as I couldn’t spot a single one i knew. That quickly changed with listening as tracks such as Packt like sardines in a crushed tin box, Pyramid song and You and Whose Army are all classics. I’ve alway leaned more to the early guitar driven output of Radiohead but increasingly find the bleepier approach of mid career Radiohead to be immensely satisfying.

This surprised me. Not really the album: it's Radiohead of a certain era and it sounds like what I'd imagine Radiohead of a certain era would sound like. My reaction to it was the surprise. When we previously had In Rainbows on the generator, I liked the vast majority of the music but found Thom's mumbled vocals absolutely infuriating. But on Amnesiac, I'm weirdly sort of fine with it - I even relistened to a bit of In Rainbows to check I wasn't just having a bad day when I heard it, but nope still not a fan. "I'm a reasonable man, get off my case" is a very funny line to have as a repeated phrase/chorus, so bonus points for that. It immediately loses those points for the terrible spelling in the name of the same track. Pyramid Song I like a lot. Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors is just too indistinguishabily weird for me, but I'm back to enjoying it by You And Whose Army and I like I Might Be Wrong even more due to the guitars. I got a chunk if the way into Morning Bell/Amnesiac before realising they seemed to be playing a kids xylophone and rather than be annoyed by it, I found it really endearing. It was at that point I decided I actively liked this record. I have no idea if I would ever sit down and listen to this again (I absolutely have no idea what the right mood for playing this is) but I can't deny I mostly really enjoyed the experience. I think this would be a 3.5, but I'm rounding up. It's a (confusingly surprised): 4/5

Favourite Track: Life in a glass house, I might be wrong Album cover: based on a drawing Stanley Danwood's (who created all the artwork for Radiohead's albums) daughter drew of a crying classmate. Danwood made a minotaur version of the figure. He was obsessed with the minotaur myth.

A truly beautiful and unique album, but a very difficult listen, partly because of the disturbed darkness of the sonics and the subject matter, but mostly because it thrusts me back mentally to the days of its release, one of the darkest times in my life, when I listened to it obsessively and it brought me no solace. This was my first full listen in probably 20 years, and I kind of doubt there will be another. Some things are best left behind.

Good album

Jamás me dio por escuchar un disco entero de Radiohead, así que esta es la primera vez. También esperaba que me propusieran “Ok Computer”, “Kid A” o “In Rainbows”, pero ha sido este. No podemos negar la audacia del grupo al proponer un estilo alejado de tendencias y de los estándares del rock de la época. Un universo neo psicodélico, onírico en compases poco comunes que reclama un hueco propio en el panorama del rock. Hueco merecido y, por lo que respecta a este álbum, ¿qué decir de esa delicatessen llamada “Pyramid Song” y de “You and Whose Army?” más que son dos joyas?

Хорршо

★4.0 前作KID Aのアバンギャルドな電子音楽はなりを潜め、 現代JAZZの要素を取り入れたことで聴きやすくなったアルバム。 残念ながら、特に印象に残る楽曲は少なかったが、 駄作かと言われるとそんなことはなく、節々にレディオヘッドらしさの残る楽曲が収録されていた。

I know I've clowned on a lot of britpop in here so far, so in the spirit of objectivity, I'll do my best to shed the rose-coloured glasses. I categorically reject the wanky instrumental bullshit that comes with this genre, as I do the self-indulgent wailing mumble vocals. Thom Yorke perpetually sounds like he woke up sucking on lemons. That said, the execution of style delivered on this album, and the production value that presents it, remains unparalleled. It occurred to me during the back half of this album that I've heard a bunch of its tropes elsewhere on this list. I think the difference I owe to this album belongs to the underlying commitment and belief in the production. This album succeeds at channeling humanity where others have failed. The nuance of the performance, the organic nature of its dynamics, I find a breath-like contour within it. So much else in this realm sounds and feels dead. Ultimately, in a vacuum (read: without Kid A), this album is good. The "Kid Amnesiac" release would edge closer to 5 stars, but wouldn't get there without losing the self-gratifying pretense inherent to britpop. So a solid 4 in my book.

One of the best bands in the world with a collection of some of their best songs (and a couple of less good ones) Deducting one star just because it’s not quite the cohesive masterpiece of OK Computer, Kid A or In Rainbows. Still incredible.

Dystopian. Weird. Doesn't sound like all the other music ever made. There are misses (Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors?!) and there are some that standout: Packt Like Sardines In a Crushd Tin Box, Knives Out, I Might Be Wrong, Life in a Glasshouse. "Let's go down the waterfall Think about the good times and never look back"

one of my absolute favorites, although Amnesiac isn't my top choice for Radiohead - on this album I think Pakt like Sardines down to I might be Wrong work great, the rest blends together, wistful and softly wailing. I still think they are brilliant whatever they do

I love this album. His voice is ethereal and somewhat eerie.

I’m forever a Radiohead fan, possibly too much, although their music hit its highs in my teens and 20s so had a huge impact. Amnesiac was a let down for me when it came out - the grand cinematic swirls of Kid A suddenly got a lot darker, murkier. It seemed a lot for Radiohead to throw out right after a masterpiece, and it’s definitely not their greatest work. In fact, it took hearing the “I Might Be Wrong” live EP to appreciate the songs more, as all of these songs needed a boost of energy. There’s still some devastating songs here and some brilliant turns - the band was still musically incredible. But this was the band working its way to another phase and that means it has its blemishes here and there.

Nice followup to Kid A but it's pretty clear this is actually Kid B

Trying to understand the time signature and find the downbeat in Pyramid Song hurt my brain. I loved it. What a weird, weird album. I’ve never heard this before and typically I’ve never been a big fan of Radiohead. But I freaking loved this album. Maybe they’re finally clicking for me. Maybe I only like a few of their albums. Whatever the case, this album was amazing.

it's good folks

If Salvador Dali paintings had a soundtrack, this would be it. The best way I can describe many of these songs is “warped.” There is a strange sound to many of these tracks, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, that’s kind of the power of Radiohead, they create such interesting tracks. This isn’t an amazing, 5-star album for me, but it is very good. Highlights include Pyramid Song, I Might Be Wrong, Dollars & Cents. Even some instrumentals like Hunting Bears I liked (this reminded me of The Right Side of My Mind by Queensryche). An excellent, unique record.

am i insane for liking this more than ok computer? radiohead is so fire when the doing weird electronic shit and not britpop bullshit

10/10

Pleasant background listening while working. No major hits, just nice flow

First time playing this for about 25 years. Beatles, prog, electronica, Aphex Twin, OK Computer era Radiohead...all mixed in the pot.

3.5

3.5/5

I saw this mashed up with a Buster Keaton movie once and now it’s all I can think of.

This album mostly lilts, but it has its hard hitting moments, mainly its spectacular outro of “life in a glasshouse”. Seems great to put on for those moments when you have to do a mindless task in front of a screen, or do a puzzle.

Classic album

Full of genius compositions and unique sounds. It’s a very cohesive work, it’s very much sonically unified, but the tracks remain mostly unique to each other. This is the first Radiohead album I’ve heard in full, and I’m definitely looking forward to the others featured on this list. 4/5

Je réitère que la tite voix whiny de Thom me gosse. Si seulement j’avais grandi avec elle comme Félix, je pourrais en être nostalgique ! bons beats par contre! pyramid song, You and whose army, i might be wrong.

Holder seg ikke like bra som Kid A.

Definitely a grower. It's not one of their classics, and can feel like a decline following Kid A, but there are a lot of underrated tracks. Not sure if it should be on this list, but it's well worth a listen.

Well what to say about Radiohead.. Great songwriting, the vibe is spot on, good musicianship. It’s not their best ever but amazing music.

Definitely one of the bands more experimental works. A lot of the songs here are great but its not on the level of its predecessor Kid A. 8/10 Favourite: Pyramid Song Least Favourite: Like Spinning Plates

Fand ich ganz spannend, kannte ich vorher noch gar nicht, obwohl ich gerne Radiohead höre, aber ich glaub ich mag ihre anderen Alben auch mehr favs: You and Whose army? Knives out Pyramid Song

A lesser Kid A, but actually works better as set with that album.

Radiohead is the best at capturing the feeling of despair/angst/dystopian hopelessness.

Packt full of hits!

Radiohead are the GOATs

The hipster Radiohead album. Great to listen when you're high. Hard to rank because its just a part 2 of Kid A, but I'd defend this album more than most. I don't really dislike any of the songs also. I also rate this too high because of personal bias.

Definitely on my lower end of Radiohead albums but still stellar

7/10 - pretty decent for Radiohead. They kind of all sound the same but idk I liked this one more

A bit electronic, experimental, synthesized and other noises. Some orchestral sounds. Typical RadioHead eeriness. Some cool guitar riffs mixed in there.

very mellow and relaxing. Seems like it would be a great album to drive the desert in. Pyramid song is a banger, but overall I'm not sad/calm enough at the moment to let the music settle. Def worth another listen at a more opportune time

liked it

Really great

Radiohead zum 12te. und good mood Friday zum 12te! Radiohead isch eifach immer e absolut sicheri sach. Grosse Fan. Sicher Ned s letzte gsi.

Madona, bin entweder wieder me hyped im lebe oder meh empfänglich für musik oder am wahrschinlichste es chömed grad eifach gueti albe in folg. Radiohead, sind da vill vertrette und ich weiss au wieso, es macht meisten sehr vill spass zum lose. Und ich ha denne na fast nie e chance geh i de vergangene 31.98 Jahre. Knapp am 5er verbie wills doch zu wenig absoluti oberklass tracks hed. Aber alles schön, guets konzept, ifallsrich und neu Allemal 4 FM radioofrequenze für das reserviert

eher durchschnittlichi radiohead experience gsi, aber das sind halt trotzdem immerno 4 sternli

Very experimental, ambient at times, or even blends into jazzy prog-rock. Lots of emotional depth to it, really enjoyed the record when I feared I wouldn't.

There truly is no band like Radiohead. While I haven’t seen them live, I did catch Thom Yorke solo—and it felt less like a concert and more like stepping into a living sound experiment, equal parts performance and consciousness-bending art. His work stretches into raw, tense, sometimes uncomfortable spaces, but always with an honesty and intensity that cuts deep. This album isn’t one I return to often, yet listening through it twice this time I was struck by its haunting layers. It’s the kind of record that unsettles as much as it moves you—an album that challenges even as it resonates.

When my kid brother got into Radiohead with the release of "Creep" in high school, I recall thinking they were just another grunge-adjacent alternative rock act with a memorable single. Fast forward 30+ years and Radiohead continue to be one of the most forward-thinking and relevant artists of a generation, and I continue to look back on my bad takes with a small measure of embarrassment. I remember getting this on vinyl hot on the heels of Kid A coming out the year I graduated university. My college girlfriend was literally and figuratively horny for Kid A, so my impetus was obvious. This record continues to support my theory that when a band starts using strings in their compositions, it demonstrates that they are getting pretty serious about shit. This is another record that sounds haunted. This theme keeps popping up in the 1001 recommendations, but I'm here for it. I haven't always loved everything Radiohead has done, but when I like something they put out, I don't just like it, it becomes an anthem. This is one of those listening experiences that takes you on a trip. There are some serious highlights here. I don't know how one would improve upon the utterly haunting "Pyramid Song," (unless 20 years later you either, [a] slow it down 800%, or [b] have a men's chorus do a cover of it that sounds like you're in church). "You and Whose Army" sounds like the besotted follow-up song to the also limply threatening "Talk Show Host," from the Romeo and Juliet OST. I like to imagine that Thom Yorke got his ass kicked in "Talk Show Host" and this is him still making empty threats, facedown on a pub table. "Knives Out" is a masterpiece, plain and simple. "Like Spinning Plates" sounds like an inverted soundtrack to a the scientific work of Athanasius Kircher. "Life In a Glasshouse" closes us out with a broken and drunken New Orleans second-line deconstruction, appropriately heralding of the arrival of the new millennium. I don't really pay that much attention to mainstream music, but Radiohead is a special exception. I was fortunate enough to see them play at a large outdoor festival one year and they were electrifying live. My friend describes them as "always tasteful," and I must say I agree. This whole album sounds decades ahead of its time.

I think I’m starting to get it

This shit was awesome. I don't love Radiohead all that much but this definitely made me want to listen to them more.

Maybe white people are on to something

I loved how innovative and bold this record is. The production is outstanding, the string sections by Greenwood, and Yorke's vocals remain as emotional as ever. This time around, they mix their alternative rock with some jazz and electronica at times, getting a very interesting and particular sound. The record flows very well, it feels very cohesive. It's an excellent album, I only gave it 4 because it doesn't have songs that are that good on their own, but maybe that's just in comparison to their other work. The standout tracks for me were "Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box", "Knives Out" and "You And Whose Army?", but most of the songs were excellent, particularly in the first half.

Really like Radiohead

First Radiohead album that was released as I was getting into that kind of music, so it's probably my personal favorite, although I think Hail to the Thief might actually be better. (4 stars)

It is not Radiohead at their best, sure, but with them it's hard to pick an album that is not at least enjoyable. The closer in this one is really good too.

Beste fra Radiohead hittil

4/7

Beautiful album. Got stoned before I listened and loved all of it. Wonderful.

Really good album

It's no Kid A. It's better. Just about a 4 as not everything clicks (Pulk Pull I'm looking at you especially) but Pyramid Song, You and Whose Amy?, I Might be Wrong and Like Spinning Plates (which has Humphrey. fucking Littleton on trumpet) hold it up.

Radiohead are in the league of their own... that's some mood

i actually hadn't heard this one before. it's good! a little Out There, perhaps moreso than i typically like my radiohead to be, but good nonetheless.

this was certainly weird, even for a radiohead album. it's the least engaging of the radiohead albums i've had so far on this list, though most of those are classics that i knew about, even as a non-fan. nice change of pace from eminem and the boring albums i've had recently though. most of these songs i only know from hard 'n phirm's medley of radiohead songs in a country/bluegrass style (called Rodeohead - it's great, go check it out). but they're great nonetheless. favorites: pyramid song, you and whose army?, knives out, morning bell/amnesiac, hunting bears, life in a glasshouse

ehhh

100% Radiohead getting into their weirder and more electronic music - Kind of a bridge between early stuff (Pablo Honey/Ok Computer/The Bends), which is structured much more like traditional rock music, and later experimental stuff (thinking of King of Limbs for example). I like it as a Radiohead fan for this reason, but it is not my favourite. The more 'song' songs are, tellingly, the standouts. I Might Be Wrong is probably my favourite song on the album - The riff, drum groove, and vocals perfectly capture this transitional phase for the band. I think the album drops off a fair bit at the end, sadly. Maybe not as accessible to non-Radiohead fans as other records by them.

Good rainy day pick

The younger brother of Kid A doesn't reach high points of the previous album, with a bar being too high anyway. However, it works well as a slightly different take on a similar sound. Favorite song: I Might Be Wrong

I feel this is very similar quality to kid A which actually surprised me a bit because I thought this was more like throw away material from Kid A completed to make an album but it’s more like the second half to a double album that never was. Although it’s not as fluid and thematic as Kid A it definitely has a similar every feeling with a focus on experimentation and electronic music in the mix. I do feel this was a slightly better album (on the first listen) as it felt like I could get into the songs without multiple listens like Kid A. There was however definitely some weirdness to this album which is to be expected for experimental music like this, most notably on pull/pull revolving doors with that strange way of vocalising in the song, but once again it definitely is experimental. Favourites: pyramid song, you and whose army, I might be wrong, knives out (great 3 song run from those three), hunting bears and life in a glasshouse. Overall, 8/10.

I somehow missed this album when it first came out. I'm not sure how, I've listened to a lot of Radiohead, both before and after this album came out. Like everything Radiohead have done, bar Pablo Honey, this is a very polished, well worked piece of music. There's part of me that wants to give it a four, but I think that's because Amnesiac doesn't, for me, hit the highs of The Bends, OK Computer or Kid A. I think I probably prefer Hail to the Thief and In Rainbows too. Another part of me, however, thinks I might be being harsh in not giving this a five as, if this was the first time I'd heard Radiohead, I'm pretty sure I'd give it a five. I guess the problem is that, no matter how consistently good you are, there's only a finite number of songs you can record without a large number of your songs just being worse versions of what you've already done. After all that rambling and several listens, I think I'm going to go with a four. Despite this album being probably being better than several albums I've given a five to, it fails the "do I love it" test, with Life in a Glasshouse being the only song I'd go out of my way to listen to again. At the end of the day you can have too much of a good thing.

Hmmm classic radiohead

I guess I’m a freak cause I’d take Kid A over Amnesiac any day of the week, but still find a nice refuge for the remnants of my 20-year old malaise in this one.

Experimental and many experiments succeed! 4

Radiohead albums are hard for me to describe. I'll just say I liked it

Middle tier Radiohead for me. Lots of beautiful parts in this album, but other parts linger on for a bit too long. It’s not as good as Kid A and I can’t help but see it as its rejects being placed onto this album, but still a solid album in its own right.

Excellent

Awesome album.

High 3 I think? Very moody but I appreciate the use of basoon

For a long time this was my favourite Radiohead album. It’s weird and sad and bleepy and jazzy. It was my introduction to the electronic side of their discography whilst Kid A is the better album this one holds a special place in my heart. Also it has Knives Out which is maybe a perfect song, despite its creepy subject matter.

7/10 Radiohead are a unique band. In my opinion, it’s all of the thought that goes into the smaller elements of their songs that really elevate them, the little samples or synth parts that just emphasis a section or provide sonic interest or depth. While a lot of bands will repeat a verse with different words, Radiohead often have some completely different ear candy that separates one section or verse from another. How much of this comes from the band and how much from Nigel Godrich, I could only guess, but he’s essentially a band member at this point really anyway. This album was created out of the sessions for Kid A and released only 8 months later. To me, this does show and, while there’s a lot to like about some of the tracks, it overall does fell a bit like a b-sides and outtakes record. The highs are high indeed, but it has a less coherent sound than some of their other albums. Overall, I think this is very good and some bits of it are top tier, but they are capable of much better than this, and we’ll be hearing a few of them further down the line. Packt Like Sardines In a Crushd Tin Box - I love the staccato nature of the rhythms on this track, set against the smoother, flowing tones from the lead vocal and other instrumentation. There’s plenty of interest in the ever-changing accompaniment if you listen more deeply. Pyramid Song - I absolutely love the way the piano drags the rhythm in this track. It’s a really beautiful piece that just swells and then ebbs away again. Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors - I really like elements of this. You can definitely hear the Aphex Twin influence in this one. But it is a bit samey. These types of tracks can really work in an album, but I just think it’s a bit too long for what it is. You And Whose Army? - A decent song and it builds nicely, but it’s not one of the better ones on the record. I Might Be Wrong - That guitar riff is great and some of the rhythms here are great. There is some interesting elements that come and go through the track too, but it is a little on the repetitive side. Knives Out - Sometimes Radiohead thread the needle between sounding utterly depressed and somehow uplifting at the same time. This is one of those. Great track. Morning Bell/Amnesiac - A worse version of a track from the last album. Strange choice and only emphasises the ‘Kid A Offcuts’ nature of this album. Dollars and Cents - Quite an understated one here in some respects, but it’s got some of those great harmonic backing vocals and does the ebb and flow thing nicely again. Doesn’t sound like there’s too much going on if you just let it wash over you, but there are a load of interesting nuggets if you listen more closely. Hunting Bears - I don’t mind a palate cleanser here and there on an album and this one’s ok. Nothing too interesting really, but settles you for the next one. Like Spinning Plates - Radiohead do unsettling really well, and this is a great example. The flickering rhythms, the slow drifting of the instrumentation and vocal. Lovely stuff. Life In a Glasshouse - I feel like this one’s just a bit disjointed from the rest of the album. There are elements of it that I like, but it just feels a bit disorganised. Not bad, but just not great.

4.2/not their best work but still pretty good imo

I love radiohead. I find it hard to understand the lyrics but he almost uses his voice like an instrument.

Some low points and filler on this one, but the standout tracks are really something; some of my favorites across their whole catalog.

Es un muy buen disco, pero de los que menos me gustan de Radiohead (y aún así me gusta). Creo que tiene un perfil más oscuro y experimental con el que no pude conectar demasiado, con excepción de algunos tracks. La calidad en la producción es excelente, aunque por momentos un tanto disimil entre tracks, lo cual le resta coherencia a la experiencia como álbum.

This feels like their most melancholy album, and I hear hints of what was to come in an iteration of the group with their offshoot The Smile. As always, the album has a consistent tone, from the low key rage of “Packt like sardines in a crushed tin box” to the sardonic use of a clarinet in “Life in a glasshouse.”

I don't feel like talking much about Radiohead at the moment, but I like Amnesiac. I feel it often gets overlooked as Kid A's B-Side album.

Packt Like Sardines in a Crushed Tin Box: Stripped back electronica, reminiscent of some of William Orbit’s music released in the late 90s. AWESOME bridge. The glitched out vocals towards the end of the song add an eerie component to the song, some hints of psychedelic rock with the sudden cuts to a bass line at the end. 10/10 Pyramid Song: Wasn’t expecting a stripped back song after the ending of PLSIACTB, I was expecting Ray of Light teas… Some vocals remind me of My Iron Lung without the darkness of that song. Beautiful vocal harmonization with the violin that kicks off into some of those weird glitched out vocals like in the opening track. Strong Lou Reed influence at the closing of the track. Nice song, but I’m more interested in those hints of electronica that keep poking through. 8.3/10 Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors OKAYYY get into the Aphex puss… I’ve never heard Radiohead use such distorted and pitched vocals. Really huge Drowned World/Substitute for Love energy, it makes me think of old Microsoft. The low cuts are absolutely insane (the bright instrumental quickly replaced with the glitching and strange sound. The ambience at the end is really interesting at cool. I sometimes find ambient music to be boring, but this has some trance elements to it that I find really cool. Overall I didn’t expect Radiohead to be this experimental. 9.5/10 You and Whose Army? Already back to the stripped back sound. Beautiful baseline but this isn’t my favorite song so far. This song feels like early-mid 2000s coffee shops. Not huge on the sudden tonal shift 2 minutes into the song. 7.5/10 I Might Be Wrong The opening immediately reminds me of that late 90s psychedelic techno sound that was really popular. Also getting a Western vibe. Love the vocals on this track and how playful but refined they feel. They were pregnant with Cage the Elephant when they recorded this. Complete tonal shift about 4 minutes in which really does this song a disservice. However I do love the stripped electronica elements it brings to the track once it starts picking up again. 9/10 Knives Out I like the darkness of this trick. It reminds me of In the Bends with OK computer vocals. Lyrically, this is the darkest Radiohead song I’ve ever heard. 7.8/10 Morning Bell/Amnesiac My least favorite so far. Sounds like evil Christmas music, but then gets very pleasant the last 45 seconds. LOVE the dial tone used as an instrument at the end. 5.5/10 Dollars & Cents Sick baseline already. Bringing back the weird ambient computer noises that I’ve really been enjoying thus far. Ray of Light’s slightly more rocker cousin. One of my favorites, easily. Elements of psychedelic trance!! 10/10 Hunting Bears That psychedelic Western sound opens up the track. Random audio cuts like Music by Madonna. Cool use of ambience behind the baseline. 8.8/10 Like Spinning Plates Weird glitching opens up the track that goes into an ambient pop sound. Reminds me of the Resident Evil movie soundtrack. Beautiful song and some of my favorite vocals on this album. GORGEOUS ambience. 9.5/10 Life in a Glasshouse That 90s Microsoft Windows ambience is back, but is immediately stripped back into dark heavy hitting piano and jazz. Another gorgeous dark song, with hints of Billie Holiday. I can only describe this song as devastating and theatrical. Not a huge fan of the pauses leading into blaring sax. Overall a good ending to a great album. 8.8/10 ALBUM SCORE: 8.6/10 (B+)

You'd think this album is just a glorified collection of B-sides and outtakes from the Kid A sessions, however Amnesiac actually builds on and expands that album's sonic explorations. Way more varied in its sonic palette, but also lacking the distinct atmosphere that really made Kid A such a unique experience. It seems the band really wanted Kid A's sound to be very especific and evoke very particular imagery, as such both the more accessible and more experimental cuts from the sessions ended up on this record instead. A great album, if a little disjointed, but charmingly so. Key tracks: Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box Pyramid Song You and Whose Army? I Might Be Wrong Knives Out Life in a Glasshouse

Hey, first Radiohead album. I’ve listened to the big albums (The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A, and In Rainbows) but never got around to this one. Part of it was that the first couple tracks were so offputting, far more than what was on Kid A. But now that I’ve forced myself to listen to the whole thing, I’m glad I did. To call this album “Kid A B-sides” is a disservice. I think the album covers of each album do a good job explaining the dofferences between them. Kid A has the abstract glaciers, and likewise is cold but expansive, with beautiful, sprawling soundscapes. Meanwhile, Amnesiac is a simple drawing of a weeping minotaur in a box. Likewise, the production here feels cramped and claustrophobic, with the album having this very anxious aesthetic. Songs like Pulk/Pull and Packt Like Sardines have these drums and synths that just drill themselves into your skull, and songs like Knives Out and Life in a Glasshouse are a little more traditional, but still have this extremely uneasy atmosphere around them. Life in a Glasshouse is a phenomenal closer by the way. It doesn’t all work, I didn’t find the instrumental moments to be as engaging as, for instance, Kid A’s instrumental tracks, but this is still a great album. Really happy I finally got around to this one.

I don't know what to say about this album, but I really liked it. I put it on and started doing other things, what seemed like 5 minutes went by and I had listened to the whole album. Sublime background music. Radiohead may have better albums, but I enjoyed listening to this one very much.

I said in my review of "Kid A": "The chill out vibe is kinda cool, but I can’t say it enough, it’s just not the Radiohead of the 90s." However, there is something more with this one. It's similar to "Kid A", but with elements from their pre-Kid A venture like "OK Computer". Pretty decent, but it's still not the Radiohead of the 90s.

Ambitious, challenging, frustrating, and beautiful. Not a masterpiece like some other Radiohead albums, and it doesn’t leave me with the same sense of awe, but it’s still an impressive feat.

8/10

Best Song: Knives Out It's a good album. I'm not going to take anything away from it. It's a bit on the mellow side and, in my opinion, not as good as Kid A, In Rainbows, or OK Computer - but solid nonetheless. I just don't see myself putting it on too often with better options out there.

I walked into a Ft. Collin’s house party filled with really cool people back in, oh, it doesn’t really matter when, but after a few hugs and hellos to people I knew and just met Dollars and Cents came on, and at that moment nothing else really mattered. I was entranced by this oddity of sounds and experience. When the lady of the house asked to change the album, I found myself jonesing for more, more ecstasy, more escape, more unknown. And the next ten minutes until I could get the hosts apt attention I pined to know who this was, and then this CD hit my hands: Radiohead. Wait, the same guys that did Creep?! This was my reintroduction to them. Radiohead became known for their ambience and emotion, which could easily make this their best album. It’s like the White Album died of a heroin overdose and found itself contemplating its existence. Packt Like Sardines sets the mood and the album stays in that pocket through the Sgt. Peppery Living In a Glass House. Spinning Plates could only be topped by the live piano version off I Might Be Wrong, which by the way is also a great song in this album. Even You & Whose Army builds into a glorious self reflection. I debated on my vote and it got a demotion for one purpose only: as the wonderful lady of the house accurately assessed decades ago, this is a headspace album not meant for the daily grind or a party full of cool people. Leave it to us melomaniacs.

Random thoughts: * I always liked this album but I now see why Radiohead didn’t put out a double disc with Kid A. Several tracks are really good but it starts to drag a bit at the end. * I’m a huge fan of the opening track and “Pulk/Pull”. Everything up to “Morning Bell/Amnesiac” is great in my opinion. * Steven Hyden made a playlist of combined Kid A / Amnesiac but I’m not sure he nailed it. There definitely is a universe with a combined album that transcends Kid A but until then we can listen to Kid A (the masterpiece) and then listen to Amnesiac( the leftovers) which are still pretty great just not as good as eating at the restaurant originally.

Spooky Adventurous Lost in Space Blood changes direction

I’m skeptical of anyone who calls this album a masterpiece, but so too am I skeptical of anyone who decries it as pointless whining. It sits very powerfully in between (although leaning masterpiece) and perfectly epitomizes what I love about Radiohead—fleeting pockets of brilliance, tucked in the folds of a much larger and more distressing sound. Uncomfortable that may be, is it not the truest reflection of our daily toils and rarer triumphs?

The previous album, Kid A was nearly released as a double album. This is the result of the band reworking some material originally defined for that release, but it’s much more than an outtakes record. There’s a much more diverse sound, drawing on jazz, both modern cool and trad, avant garde classical music and absolute abstraction, even down to the lyrics which often have a William Burroughs cut up feel to them. There’s a cluster of songs in the middle of the album which come close-ish to conventional guitar-centric rock. Knives Out wouldn’t be out of place on OK Computer. Don’t panic, hipsters, abnormal service is resumed as the album closes. Whatever else you want to say about Radiohead, they don’t lack artistic courage.

I liked it, feel like some of it would be nice music to have while studying, maybe because i cant understand some of the words lol

This is a great album.

Actually not that bad at all and I quite enjoyed listening. I didn’t think I liked Radiohead, but there you go. Half decent.

Holy... why didn't I listen to this one sooner?

scho ultra weird, aber sehr geil!

# Album Name: Amnesiac # Artist: Radiohead # Rating: 4/5 # Comments: This will be a love/hate album for many listeners. Personally, i always loved radioheads earlier stuff - Kid A and Amnesiac were the beginning of their transformation. Regardless, this is still a good listen. Better than a lot of albums on this list. # Top Tunes: Sardines / Pyr song / you and whose army / i might be wrong / knives out / MB # Would I listen to it again? Yes

I don’t know if I like Radiohead or I’m supposed to like Radiohead. I definitely like Radiohead’s earlier music but this album has some good songs.

Some of Radiohead's best!

I probably know this Radiohead album the least out of all of theirs, so it's been nice to go through it and feel like I'm getting a new release by the band. I always think of Radiohead as being pretty adventurous while still maintaining a sound that is very uniquely theirs, and this album continues that. The first track I'm given a great drum sound to start, and then as soon as you get comfortable the beat switches. The same happens for the second song, where a beautiful piano part comes in, with some mixed modalities in there, some moments where it sounds like mistakes on the instrument, and then some really thick rubato- where the performer takes some moments to stretch out the tempo. It's certainly adventurous, and really a delight to hear. When that rock and roll riff comes in on "I Might Be Wrong", I said "wow.". It's kind of out of character for them, but it's such a stupidly simple and great riff and it adds so much to the vibe of the record. It's like a Queens of the Stone Age part in the middle of a Radiohead album- so cool! This album doesn't have the big standout "radio" tracks that Radiohead are known for; there's no "Creep", "Karma Police", or "No Surprises" here. In fact, this album doesn't even contain a single song from their top 10 most listened to (as per Spotify). And I actually really like that, I was able to listen to the album in a singular context and get immersed in it without sitting back and enjoying while not knowing the direction I was headed in before getting hit with a song that I've heard thousands of times and am intimately familiar with. It made this album feel like more of an experience.

Not my favourit Radiohead album. But still a great atmospheric recording. Top: "I Might Be Wrong", "Knives Out"

It was good but just not the mood I was in.

I still couldn’t name a single Radiohead song, but I like their sound.

Melancholia done well. I would rate it 5 stars if it didn't take me to places I don't want to go. A fitting album for those numb, depressed moments.

Some amazing songs like Pyramid song and discovered Hunting Bears, which I seem to have missed before. But not my favourite Radiohead album overall.

Free Palestine

Haunting, chaotic and flips from intentionally sparse to dense soundscapes very effectively. As a massive Radiohead fan I’ve always been it two minds about this album. On one hand you have some of the bands finest songs. Pyramid Song, Life In a Glass House, You And Whose Army?, I Might Be Wrong and Knives Out are all incredible pieces of music, that make it hard to believe they were supposedly left overs. But on the other hand you have in my opinion some of the bands less successful forays into more experimental music. Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors sticks out as the worst song on the album and feels entirely unnecessary. The drum loops are neat but the track ambles aimlessly for over 4 minutes when it feels like it should be an interlude. The album also has the weaker version of Morning Bell on it which doesn’t seem to serve any purpose other than make you want to listen to the Kid A version. That being said when this album is good it’s really good and I still regularly revisit it with the occasional skip. Overall I wouldn’t say it’s the bands best but it’s still a well made enjoyable Radiohead album. 4/5

Not my favourite radiohead, but it's still radiohead

It's not my favourite Radiohead album, but still has many moments of transcendent beautify.

Crazy pull

WOW! Masterpiece! Pulk/Pull revolving doors? Pyramid song? you and whose army? Thom really Yorked one out on this. it gets 4 of 5 radio heads from me. + Cover is a 7/10 for me

I liked this album but not as much as a lot of other Radiohead albums

Even my 8th favorite Radiohead album is good....

Always forget how much I love the actual songs on this by how weird it's sequenced (loses a lot of steam on Side B).

Is gewd

I really liked it. It has some music that would fit a James Bond film. Never really listened to them before, now that ove heard this album I'll listen another one from them.

Ok

I liked it, and it made me seek out more, so I listened to the album Kid A, which was from the same session as this. Very creative musicians, great listening.

Very good. Not my favorite RadioHead album but very good.

I listened to this a while ago, but I remember really liking it. It definitely felt obscure and like abstract if I remember correctly. Would, and will, listen again.

I was pleasantly surprised by this album. I wasn’t expecting one of the lesser talked about Radiohead albums to be all too good but if this is any indicator for how good the greats are then I’m very excited for those. I really enjoyed a lot of the jazz style and influence on this record especially but also just the wide variety of style experimented with here. It was all enjoyable and quality stuff.

A bit of an arcabe vibe but chill

OOOOOOOOOO

Quirky and captivating.

Quirky and memorable. Well executed.

Really cool sound, pretty unique

Liked it, grungy, dark, not a lot of singing lol, late night or focus music maybe

class album, lovely vocals, soft and harder instrumentals, overall very good

Extremely atmospheric, in a nice way. Just something nice to vibe to. Pyramid song is an absolutely beautiful piece. Nice lyrics. Definitely for people who are sad. So I understand why people love this band You in what army is strong. Some of these songs are kinda bad like spinning plates. Bear hubting just an instrumental, though it is a good one. Overall a pretty good album with high highs and low lows (Pulk is pretty god awful though)

Whinge

Amnesiac often gets treated like the shadowy B-side to Kid A, and in some ways it is—but it’s a fascinating, ghostly companion piece that stands up surprisingly well on its own. It shares the same experimental, electronic spirit, but feels murkier, colder, more fragmented, like you're tuning into strange radio frequencies from some parallel world. Tracks like Pyramid Song and Knives Out are standouts, full of eerie beauty and understated intensity, while I Might Be Wrong gives the album a much-needed groove and swagger. It’s not as cohesive or groundbreaking as Kid A, and a few tracks feel more like art installations than songs you’d revisit often, but there's something compelling in its disjointedness. It leans more heavily into mood and texture than structure, which can make it feel emotionally distant at times—but also weirdly hypnotic. A slightly less essential listen, but still a rich, rewarding one.

This was my favourite Radiohead album for a while, and it still has some of my favourite Radiohead songs - Pyramid Song, You and Whose Army, Dollars & Cents, Life in a Glasshouse. Some of the experiments are really interesting as well. It dragges a bit in the middle though; I've grown tired of I Might Be Wrong and Knives Out over the years. Still a great album, but not quite on the level of Kid A, Ok Computer, or In Rainbows for me.

Pulk is like a brain error XD I didn’t know this album well, Pyramid was pretty nice. But the journey was missing. Ok computer is still my favorite album

I really enjoyed this, my first exposure to Radiohead! I am told that their earlier tracks are overwhelmingly emo & self-loathing, an approach to music I do not like at all. But i don’t see much self-loathing here. The album has some very interesting songs, beyond the traditional molds for pop songs. It features polyrhythms & complex layering of samples and soundscapes. Very creative, engaging, and musical. It’s a four, for sure — but with more exposure, I might move it to a five.

I don't love the shift to electronica. This does not hold up to The Bends. You And Whose Army? is the most melancholy song calling someone out I've ever heard. I also like it the best of the songs so far. Radiohead is like what Coldplay would sound like if they were sad and experimental. I love the line in Lego Movie 2 when 1980-Something Space Guy Benny says he finally gets Radiohead in Everything's Not Awesome. I Might Be Wrong has a Link Wray feel about the guitar riff. I wonder if these guys watched Lost Highway and this song came out of it. Knives Out feels more like "classic" Radiohead. So far, every song from You And What Army forward is more like the Radiohead I love. They're losing me again, rewins noise or moth flapping near a microphone noise in Like Spinning Plates is annoying. Ok, Like Spinning Plates is a jam. Too many space noises on this album. Life in a Glasshouse works somehow, it's like Radiohead's take on a jazz funeral.

Not my favorite RH album, but still RH 4/5

Some of the songs were great, some of them were just okay but overall this album is a very good experience. It was the first Radiohead album I've heard in my life in full - thanks to the generator, since I've never gotten into them in the past. And I think it was worth it and I'll be coming back to this album once in a while. Amnesiac also reminded me of Insurgentes by Steven Wilson a little bit.

Radiohead is a great band and this is a great sound to hear

That was so tuff bro

Big fan of Radiohead so this is a great start on my 1001 journey. I have somehow never listened to this album. Great opening track. The vibe starts out great. Very machine-y and robotic with great beats and electronic parts over the traditional rock vibe. Tracks tend to swell with intensity: highs then dips in tempo and mood. That falls of quickly though with the back half of the album seeming more "human." "You and whose army?" had notable piano piece and cowboy-esq vibe going into "I Might be Wrong"s guitar riff - pretty cool. "Dollars and Cents" has such an interesting style, lyrically very relevant to the world 24 years after this album came out. "We're gonna crack your little souls" might be one of my new favorite lines from a song ever. Overall fantastic album. I think it drops a bit during the end, which may keep it from top ratings in my book, but that's a minor nitpick. The end of the album is such a different mood/vibe from the beginning (the style of which I absolutely love), which I'm sure is intentional. Going from a tech heavy imperfect world to "Life in the Glasshouse," poor and destitute and old-timey sounding musically after politics, money, and war get their way. That's my initial read on the album, which is pretty cool conceptually. The album is cool, that is, not my take on it. As a last note: I dont know how much I'll pay attention to analyzing lyrics while doing these 1001 albums, but this album has some interesting, classically radiohead, lyrics that will probably warrant a re-listen to dive deeper into at some point. What a great start!

Not the best Radiohead album, but I still like it.

4.5

Pretty good, kinda slow start but enjoyed it after “you and whose army”

how had i never listened to this before

In Rainbows and OK Computer will always reign supreme, but this is still a great Radiohead album with some standout songs like Pyramid Song and Morning Bell/Amnesiac.

It’s great but not Radioheads best. Hey! I’m a reasonable man — get off my case!

This is what- Radiohead’s fifth or sixth best album? Insanely consistent discography. There are some real highs on this one, “Pyramid Song,” “You and Whose Army,” and “Knives Out” are real standouts to me. I also think that there are some (relative) low points on this album and it doesn’t play as well all the way through as some of their more acclaimed releases. The fact that this is still flirting with a 5 speaks to the talent of the group, and maybe on a different day I would rate it as such. 9/10

Half of the songs on this album I LOVE - pyramid song, you and whose army, life in a glasshouse etc. but the rest of the album feels too experimental and b-sidey

It does feel like Radiohead took their music as far as it can go on this one. It feels like it builds on a lot of what they did on OK Computer and they pushed all the techno futurist music up to 11. I don't know if that's necessarily something I like between this album and OK Computer but it's still got a baseline level of enjoyment that I'm going to have from one of the most innovative bands of the 90's to 2000's.

4/5

I'm never not afraid that Thom Yorke is having a stroke and Amnesiac certainly doesn't help that feeling. Standout tracks for me personally were Pulk/Pull and I Might Be Wrong

Radiohead at their most experimental and downright weirdest (I'm looking at you, Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors) - and I'm here for it. Whereas most of their albums lead to some kind of natural resolution - some light at the end of the tunnel or at least some closure - this one weaves deeper and deeper into the dark forest, becoming, if anything, more unhinged and paranoid as it goes. Out of the strangeness come some of their most sublime moments (Pyramid Song, Life In A Glasshouse), and also some of their twitchiest grooves (Packt Like Sardines, I Might Be Wrong).

Suitably trippy for a piss in the dark. Could probably do with a more thorough listen

radiohead is one of my fave bands ever and while this album itself don’t quite reach up to a 5 for me, i still love it and it contains some of my fave songs of theirs; pyramid song (just wow!), i might be wrong (has the coolest sound) and knives out (just beautiful).

Enjoyed this, more atmospheric and experimental than HTTT with fewer 'bangers', but very effective.

Hey, it’s also good

What is a radio head?

This process is teaching something of what we mean by album. Any of us who were around at the time remember downloading live recordings of the songs that would become Kid A and Amnesiac. There were obvious highlights among them, but the album itself wasn't obvious at all. An album cannot be made of highlights alone - a Best Of compilation can be a fun listen, but it won't satisfy artistically. The idea that Pyramid Song doesn't appear on the album seems ridiculous, but there is no place for it on Kid A. Kid A itself may not even be the best album that one could make from all those songs, but the qualities that make it work where Amnesiac doesn't are clear: flow, continuity, consistency, thematic cohesion. The National Anthem and Life In A Glass House are both successful jazz exercises, but the former integrates the jazz band into both the song and the album as a whole, whereas the former distinguishes and isolates itself from the other songs. One could not be swapped out of one record and placed on the other. Perhaps Treefingers could be replaced with Hunting Bears, but the only way to know is to try and I presume Radiohead did. Another quality that we might consider a successful album to have is that it represents a snapshot of an artistic moment in time. Kid A feels like a progression and an encapsulation, whereas as Amnesiac sounds occasionally like the past (Knives Out), occasionally like the future (I Might Be Wrong would fit easily on Hail to Thief) or, with it's more unusual efforts - Life In A Glass House, Like Spinning Plates, Packt Like Sardines - out of time altogether. But being on an album does something for a song, giving it context and clarity. Dollars and Cents is hardly worthy of discussion, but for that it is on Amnesiac. Whereas Pyramid Song is elevated, not just a perfect single, but the lead single of an album and of a tour, the fulcrum around which an imagined alternate to Kid A Mnesiac revolves. This is turn says something about the song - how did it (and select other tracks) elevate a collection of cut-offs and discards into a mystery bag of potential? 3 I could write hundreds of pages on Amnesiac but I’m really not sure what to say about it in a short review. I’ll never forget the very first time I heard Life in a Glass House, freshly downloaded from Napster, through big headphones, sitting in a big leather chair in my father’s study. I was so taken with Jimmy Hastings’ clarinet part that I took up clarinet for a while. My first lesson was on 9/11. I can’t think of another track by anyone like Like Spinning Plates because I love the song so much and yet never want to listen to its studio recording. I have been listening for nearly 25 years but I change my mind about I Might Be Wrong and Knives Out every time I hear them; are they great or terrible?; are they exquisite and thrilling or stupid and boring? As the years have gone on I have found it more difficult to hear Amnesiac out of the shadow of Kid A, though I don’t recall it being an issue for me at the time in the least. The recent joint anniversary reissue in one box with Kid A ‘Kid A Mnesia’ certainly didn’t help. I don’t know. When it came out I recall hearing it as a (flawed) album in its own right and now I am much more inclined to the feeling that it is the mere outtakes of the Kid A sessions. It has, unquestionably, a couple of Radiohead’s very best songs on it (Pyramid Song and Life in a Glass House) but also worthless studio indulgence - (Pulk/Pull.. and Morning Bell/Amnesiac) and somewhat uninspired studio recordings of songs that deserved better (You and Whose Army, Dollars and Cents). Amnesiac isn’t a great album but I love it. Amnesiac isn’t an important album but it was important to me. 4/5

Wasn’t that familiar with this, but generally quite liked it. The latter half I liked better than the first half.

“Kid B” is a little less accessible or fun or, let’s say, good than some of their other entries. But I still like it. Rapid fire “last song on Radiohead album” power rankings: Street Spirit Life in a Glasshouse Motion Picture Soundtrack Videotape True Love Waits The Tourist —-big gap—— A wolf at the door Separator Blow out

Muy bien. Bien equilibrado. Tiene lo suficiente de lo que amo del Ok computer como para que no me aburra como el Kid A. Buen álbum.

[4]

My 5th Radiohead album from this challenge, and it’s a solid one. Not as good as Kid A or In Rainbows for me, but not as good as Kid A or In Rainbows imo. It just didn’t stand out as much to me as those two albums, and furthers strengthens my argument that there should be no more than 2 albums per artist on a list like this.

++: Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box, Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors, You and Whose Army?, Knives Out, Dollars and Cents, Like Spinning Plates, Life in a Glasshouse +: Pyramid Song, I Might Be Wrong +-: Morning Bell/Amnesiac, Hunting Bears 7,9/10

Really enjoyed it, I’ve heard of Radiohead but never listened to them

Not their best.

I liked the strong emotion behind it and the iconic tones

A weak 4 but a 4 nonetheless. Step up for my personal tastes from The Bends and OK Computer. I much prefer the electronic elements grooves. My attempts to appreciate Radiohead more is having some success.

i never listen to radiohead i just like that one song all i need but this was very good i liked packt like sardines in a crushd tin box & pulk/pull revolving doors. life in a glasshouse is good as well very weird song names

I Might Be Wrong

I love this album, but there aren't enough go-to fantastic tracks to justify five stars.

Some good build up songs, interspersed with the whiny ones here and there. Reading some of the lyrics seems like they were placeholders with the intent to come back and write the real ones later. Still, some good moody music here so will come back for that.

very angsty and has great grooves. I can't tell what thom is saying basically ever.

not bad for some b-sides. 72/100

7.5/10

诶呀呀这个歌手我本身就喜欢，再看到这一段介绍，想立刻开始听的冲动 听完以后觉得音效很妙，不是想象中的solo 呢。应该会常听 和《Kid A》一样，《Amnesiac》融合了电子音乐、20 世纪古典音乐、爵士乐以及德国泡菜摇滚（krautrock）等多种风格。专辑的最后一首歌曲《Life in a Glasshouse》是与爵士小号手 Humphrey Lyttelton 及其乐队合作完成的。

5th or 6th best album on this list. Will the entire discography be on the list? This album spawned too many clones.

already in my library (4)

Is it Kid A? no. Is that a really high bar? certainly yes. I was in less of a constant fugue-like dream for this one compared to Kid A, which is a minus, but I suppose the plus is it's easier to listen to with company.

I’ve never paid much mind to Amnesiac. I’ve always brushed it off as Kid A 2.0, but in listening, it has a clear identity and warrants its own attention. It’s glitchy, rock-y, and piano-y, serving as a worthwhile bridge between Kid A and Hail to the Thief.

Radiohead's Amnesiac, while equally dense and experimental as its predecessor Kid A, introduces a more accessible concept that invites listeners to engage with its themes more readily. The album navigates the complexities of modern life, alienation, and memory with a haunting yet melodic approach, offering tracks that, while layered and intricate, possess a certain warmth and familiarity. This balance of abstraction and approachability makes Amnesiac a compelling continuation of the band's evolution, allowing both dedicated fans and new listeners to find their footing within its captivating soundscape.

Similar to Kid A but I like this one a bit better.

Not one of their masterpieces, but haunting as ever and very good for studying. 7/10 Fave: Life in a glasshouse

radiohead, premier savants of the faux avantgarde. with ok computer, they mastered the art of making music that seems experimental, but is beneath the hood driven by clear pop sensibilities. in kid a, they took a new step, renouncing some of their prior pop inclinations, assimilating well-crafted, complex electronica (still maintaining some songwriting conventions). in many ways, radiohead are the musical descendents of pink floyd (far more so than they are of say velvet underground)—for better or (sometimes) worse; their music is more driven by its intellectual qualities than any real raw expressive or visceral capacity. on here, they maintain the trajectory from kid a. the band deploys a varied arsenal of loops, distortions, glitchy sound effects. conversely, there is not much guitar on here. this synthesis of the compositional complexity with the emotionally facile electronics works surprisingly well, mesmerizingly framing thom yorke's vocals. like pink floyd, radiohead has the tendency to overintellectualize certain aspects—particularily w/r/t the formal/structural choices they make, occasionally at the expense of the songwriting. so, a few songs do feel like hollow vessels, well-crafted for the sake of it, but lacking any substantive expression. "pulk/pull revolving" is a definite low. the sequencing of tracks on this album is also frankly confusing, abrupt, and incoherent. there are tremendously high highs. notably: "pyramid song," a dramatic ballad; the horn driven "life in a glasshouse"; "you and whose army."

Least favorite album of radiohead.

Pulk / Pull Revolving Doors actually extremely hard. Love the more jazzy / experimental texts like pulk / pull and dollars and cents

A good follow up to Kid A. Lesser than Kid A, but still worth a listen.

- reminds me of aphex twin - first time listening to a Radiohead album all the way through - rizor said this album a 10/10

I don't think every track on here is, “a banger.” But, when I really like 5/11 of them, and the remaining 6 tracks, “aren't bad at all," I think I'm qualifed to say, “I like this album.” I have no clue what messages the band is trying to say, but it's very interesting to hear.

Underrated Radiohead record. Whenever you talk about Radiohead, it's like the fifth record you might mention. Says a lot about their career and not enough about this record.

This is my second Radiohead album on this journey after The Bends. Amnesiac contains tracks recorded during the same sessions as their prior landmark album Kid A. However, it is a misnomer to call this album "Kid A B-sides"; rather, there were two different mindsets during those recording sessions - the extremely manufactured electronic music that we got on Kid A, and the more band-oriented arrangements akin to their earlier work that we got here. That's not to say there aren't a few electronic experiments on Amnesiac such as using tape loops and auto-tuning on tracks like "Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" or "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors". But more often than not, where this album shines is with the incorporation of warm, organic instruments such as the haunting piano line on "Pyramid Song", the jaunty guitar hooks on "I Might Be Wrong" and "Knives Out", and the orchestral swell on "Dollars and Cents". Yet, a part of me isn't overly wowed by this album because of the band's focus here on atmosphere more than melody. I can certainly remember the aforementioned instrumental highlights. But the rest tends to blend into this jazz and krautrock mixture that is pleasant to listen to at the moment but doesn't retain well in memory long after, most notably with the two-minute instrumental "Hunting Bears" that went in one ear and out the other for me. This notion comes after I listened to The Bends and found more distinct and memorable hooks on that project. Even if I can't call Amnesiac one of Radiohead's best albums, it is still an intriguing side-adventure that they were able to squeeze out, and is worth exploring if you're curious.

This album never clicked for me like The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A and In Rainbows -- those four Radiohead albums are clear 5s to me, and I've listened to those far more than this one or the others. Giving it another shot now: I still don't love it front to back, it's a little too subdued/sedated. Still very good though.

I really like this one.

I was really into the first half of this album. The opening beat on Pakt was super intriguing and cool. Pyramid Song was dark and haunting with the piano and Thom's singing - beautifully produced. Pulk/Pull was a bit odd, but ended up liking it. I thought the back-to-back of I Might Be Wrong and Knives Out was one of my favorites in this album. I don't know if the 2nd half of the album worked for me fully. I felt a bit disoriented and nervy listening to it. I feel like Spinning Plates could be background music for a scene in a movie where a character is hurdling back through time or something like that. Strange song. Life In A Glasshouse was a strong finish though. It's bluesy with the piano and horns, and pretty haunting. I can't explain it, but I just liked it a lot better than songs like Dollars/Cents and Spinning Plates in the back half. I think I'm landing at 3.5 stars after a couple of listens. Willing to round up to a 4 though since I can see myself coming back to listen to this again.

Great album but doesn’t feel as cohesive as some of their others to me.

Less Radiohead is still pretty good radiohead

Similar to the Hail to the Thief album, this one was better than I expected and remembered. I generally subscribe to the ‘they went downhill after OK computer’ crowd, and this certainly lacks the catchy songs and has a couple of tracks that are too experimental. It is well written and performed and I guess you just have to accept that this is a different style and direction.

Ah Radiohead, always music for a dreary cold, wet and windy winters day/night. Fortunately, that’s exactly what today is, so I really enjoyed this! I’ve always rather ignored this album, but it’s got a mega strong 1st half (excluding track 3 which should have been consigned to the Kid A doledrums). More laid back second half but a great ending track. Really works for me as an album, the mood is constant (although I’m not 100% sure what the mood is). I just find it interesting they recorded this at the same time as Kid A. Clearly they just wanted to stick the experimental stuff out first to upset everyone, knowing they had this up their sleeve to readjust everyone to their future direction. Which makes no sense, but heyho, the lads have done alright for themselves .

This is exciting! Radiohead don't disappoint.

Lustigerweise ist das das erste Radiohead-Album, das mir generiert wurde und das einzige, das ich mir bisher noch nicht angehört hatte. Ich dachte immer, es sind einfach B-Seiten von Kid A, aber nein, es fühlt sich irgendwie anders und selbständig an. Sie haben zwar bessere Alben, aber auch schlechtere und das hat ziemlich Spaß gemacht. 3 1/2 Sterne, aber ich runde auf.

Not in the top tier of Radiohead albums, but still intriguing.

I love Radiohead. I will be listening to it again. I found it hard to get into… a little but ja.

lacks cohesion as an album, though the majority of the tracks are successful genre-fusion experiments that are both atmospheric and enrapturing

Moody, but in a way I like. Really sat together as an album

Like so many of the bands on this journey, Radiohead's isn’t what I thought Radiohead was. I really got into the deep electronica groove, then the (more subtle than usual?) overlaid guitar, drifting along on the slipstream they laid down, then…bam!…Thom Yorke sang! His vocals are more instrument than melody, I figure, an odd, dissonant instrument that sometimes soothes, sometimes jars, sometimes makes me think “Really?!”. It’s more Portished and less Coldplay, and I like it all the more for that.

Dang, this album is a lot better than I remember. Very good. I bought this album shortly after it was released, and while I enjoyed it back then it kind of felt like more of a companion EP to Kid A than it’s own album. A couple decades later it feels like its own album (and I maybe like it more than Kid A?). A few amazing songs. I’ll probably revisit this one in near future to dig deeper.

I do like Radiohead, and I found most of these songs gorgeous. I will say that they were a little dour and just plain depressing, which I was already feeling today, so I don’t think I appreciated it as much.

Sometimes it feels like I’m the type of guy whose favorite band should be Radiohead. They’re not.

Took me by surprise. It will definitely go in the rotation. Young me would’ve had this if he only knew…

Honestly, I just love Radiohead and I love this album. I’ve listened to it times before and I always enjoy it, it’s a 5 from me in my heart but my head knows there’s a few songs that are just a bit ehh, but it’s still a damn good album.

Mournful. Couldn’t hear the lyrics but liked it overall.

Enjoyed it!

3.5

I would say the album is "average" for a radiohead album. I am not a big fan of whiney thom Yorke. There are elements of the album that are good, but on the whole it does not grab me and make me go wow. Would I listen to it again? No. 3.5 stars which i upgraded to 4 because it was still pleasant to listen to

Radiohead never disappoints though they do have better albums than this 4/5

4/5

Yes Fave: you and whose army?

Probably my least favorite RH album

leftovers from kid a and it shows. radioheads 5th best album and it really didnt need to be on here. pyramid song, life in a glass house and this version of morning bell are top tier song tho. 3.5 rounded up

it’s radiohead, it’s good. yahoo

Of the prime-career Radio albums (defined roughly as anything prior to A Moon Shaped Pool by me) this is one that I have spent comparatively little time with. Remnants of the Kid A electronica experimentation are apparent out of the gate on Packt Like Sardines. Buoyed by a warm bassline, this one marches forward to electronic clicks, beeps, and vocal modulation/samples. Fantastic production as always. Pyramid Song is an all time favorite of mine with a title that perfectly describes how it feels. Starting out bleak and sparse, it builds slowly, but steadily around a simple piano progression. Yorke's bare vocals first entry to be followed by sweeping strings, drums, and then electronic elements that press forward together. Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors is an absolute trip that sounds like it was thought up, recorded, and produced by an alien. Deeply unsettling. You And Whose Army? is a mid album standout. Yorke's melancholy drone doing what it usually does supported by a ghostly harmony and distant, but clean bassline and guitar melody through the first half. Drums come in and the song opens up to a wonderful climax. Such a harrowingly beautiful song. Knives Out is one of the songs that stands alone better than the rest. More conventional in structure it is a driving song with beautiful production -- love how clean the guitar tone is and its isolation to the left monitor. Pleading Morning Bell/Amnesiac is a deeply unsettling anxiety inducing song. Hard to say exactly why, but there is something about Yorke's delivery, the bright twinkling and minor underlying elements that just make this nightmarish. Still I love it. As weird as the rest of the album is, the last three songs still manage to stand apart. Hunting Bears is almost like an open mic recording session; Like Spinning Plates is a warbly electro-synth jam that sounds like it has been completely inverted -- just wild; and Life in a Glasshouse is a wonky dilapidated song that feels like an unraveling party coming to an end. What more to say... while this album doesn't hold the same replay appeal as OK Computer, In Rainbows, or Kid A (for me) it certainly is the product of a great band at their artistic heights. Production is beautiful throughout and several powerful songs pull beyond their weight: Pyramid Song, Knives Out, You and Whose Army. For me this is either the highest of all 4s or the lowest of all 5s. Like a 9.1

Some real synthy sounds going on throughout the whole album. Sounded like I was in a dream the whole time. Thom Yorke has such a unique style where it doesn't really sound like he is singing but is still leading the songs perfectly for this style of music Very much an enjoyable album

Radiohead is an anomaly. Radiohead, never fixed in any one genre, not easily pinned down, is an evolution that keeps moving forward. I have favored Radiohead since the beginning, and this album is no exception. If Kid A is ... slightly better... I really can't tell... slightly different maybe? And this album is definitely different than The Bends... but they are all three albums in line, all different... and all brilliant! I have lost touch with Radiohead's latest work, but maybe after this kickstart, I will catch up!

Releasing an album of lost tracks and offcuts just seven months after the previous hit Kid-A was a risky move. However this album of experimental electronica and down tempo lo-fi beats just about pulls it off. I’m still not the greatest fan of Thom Yorke’s voice, but it works better here than on some of their rockier tracks. The highlight is Life in a Glasshouse featuring the trumpet of the late, great Humphrey Littleton. I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue-tastic!

This is a great album from Radiohead, in the continuity of the work started with OK Computer and their move from more traditional/mainstream rock to experimental rock/electronica. Not their best IMHO, maybe a bit too low key, somehow less catchy than Kid A (from the same recording sessions) but still great.

Overall: 7/10 I recently got over my hatred of Radiohead and can now acknowledge how experimental and cool they are. That being said, I still don't really enjoy Thom's voice and it sounds especially whiney on this album for some reason. I understand that it was recorded at the same time as the songs from Kid A and you can tell as it's stylistically similar. It feels somewhat more claustrophobic than Kid A but it's still a pleasant listen with lots of cool electronic sounds peppered in. Not the best introduction for a newcomer to Radiohead but it's worth your time. Fav Song: Life in a Glasshouse Least Fav Song: You and Whose Army?

I wasn't a Radiohead fan in my 20s, but two decades later I'm definitely feeling them. They've got such a unique sound, but the vocals can get a little whiny.

Good, possibly great but I will never have their posters on my wall. Enjoyed it but not really my bag

After Kid A no one really knew what to expect. While somewhat a continuation, the overall feel was different and cemented a new direction that they needed to fully get out of their system before proceeding on to the next collection. This is a great album, hands down.

I am familiar with a few songs on this album. Pyramid Song is so hauntingly beautiful. I’m happy I finally listened to this the whole way through. Although, there’s a feeling of too much “filler” after this one listen through.

absolute banger album, not exactly all classics, but definitely all worth listening.

Very Radiohead, but also not as good as in rainbows or later albums

Always enjoy a good Radiohead album! Favorite songs were Pyramid Song and I Might Be Wrong.

Not my favorite Radiohead album, but still really good. Favorite track is by far Pyramid Song.

4.0 Kid B

Amnesiac is famous for being the twin of one of the greatest albums ever recorded and while as a whole it’s certainly doesn’t match Kid A, there are moments that absolutely do. Pyramid Song, You and Whose Army?, I Might Be Wrong, Life in a Glasshouse are all elite, masterpieces in some cases. Anyone who saw them tour in 2000-01 knows how incredible the individual pieces od Amnesiac are. And that was the point. 8.4/10

My 3rd least favourite Radiohead album. Ok then. King of Limbs and Pablo Honey, since you're asking. This is still decent, but the main issue is it's just not as good as Kid A, is it? If we're being honest. Pulk/Pull is just kind of there and doesn't do anything exciting. You and Whose Army is a b-side. Although the last 60 seconds is good. I prefer the version of Morning Bell on Kid A. However. However, we also have here one of Radiohead's best ever songs, Pyramid Song. Knives Out is good. The last 2 tracks are great. I can take or leave absolutely all of the rest. I've mostly denigrated this album and yet I'm still giving it a 4 (a low one, mind). These are the high standards we set for Radiohead records. But yeah my existing opinion that this is the ginger stepchild of Kid A is unchanged. Happy it exists however as they built on this for their best work, progressing through Hail to the Thief and arriving at In Rainbows.

Radiohead are obviously brilliant, but this one feels pretty inessential to me, you can tell it's an addendum to Kid A. Still a worthy 4.

Even though it's not the best Radiohead, it's still quality thorughout and interesting, if a bit drifty and aimless at times. The top cuts – "I Might Be Wrong" and "Knives Out" and "Morning Bell/Amnesiac" – are typically high quality. The closer, echoing the record's overall effect, just never quite comes off. Still, editors should know better than to cut any RH records, much less multiples.

I like the feel of it, some good songs. Not my favourite Radiohead album but I still enjoyed it!

Ich has sehr geil gfunde, für mich nöch amene 5i aber i wird s album glaub nüm fanz durelose, nur es paar songs no drum es 4i glaubs

erste song sehr nice, sehr radiohead halt. pyramid song super schön taktwechsel und so. huuuere schö hobla. strings und schlagzüg sooo schön. pulk pull isch seehr geil weird super knisterndi drums und ich checks nöd ganz aber radiohead dörf das ebe wennd rundume mega geile scheiss machsch denn gib ich ihne de goodwill als zuehörer und loh mich druf iih. you and whose army huuuuuere geeeeeil wenns mol los goht aaaah d chords s klavier d melodie Fuuuuck. i might be wrong bis dollars and cents verschwimmt so bitz inenand ine aber s isch huuere schön. oke hunting bears isch etz chli e pause und d gitarre tönt suuper schön jonny. life in a glasshouse mit de jazz blöser au haaammer. chratzt scho amne füfi. hert geil.

Solid album. Dark, moody, atmospheric. Dollars and Cents was my favorite. Would listen to again on a rainy night for sure. Radiohead seemed to cook with this one. I will say without headphones this would not sound as good.

i love me some radiohead

Atmospheric and errie, gotta be in the right mood, and not easy listening.

I forgot to write this review, I was an "Amnesiac". I know this album divided fellow reviewers due to its absurdity. But I really liked it as a Radiohead fan. "You and Whose Army and "Pyramid Song" are my favourites. "Two Bears" should've been a B-Side. 4 stars for "Amnesiac"

I do enjoy Radiohead, I did back in the day and it's been fun to revisit it. I dug this CD out so I could listen to the physical copy. I'm having a hard time telling this album apart from Kid A so I'll go back and listen to that at some point.

Creativity in motion, with a experimental edge. A great auditory journey

Excellent but also right up my alley. Probably a 4.5 and will listen some more

decent 4, too much garbledygook, but the bangers save it and push it to a four for me

Wonderful.

7/10

Good Radiohead album

Mixed. Some song were too good, some too meh.. overall 3.5