Reviews (page 15 of 15)
This stayed on all day.
Yeah real nice.
I knew the songs, but I had never listened to the album. Really Good.
Boring.
Second time listening to the album. It's slow and bittersweet at some parts. I absolutely love the last few tracks, especially "My Iron Lung".
19th January 2022 Listened throughout the day on my phone, went in to Brixton and got an iPhone. Terrified that I was going to lose all this data but managed to find out how to keep it! Such a good album, it's searing and tearing whilst being tender.
This seems to be a lot of people's favourite Radiohead record which I understand - it's certainly their most direct alt-rock/almost britpop album and fits nicely with some other acclaimed British albums of the mid 90s. However it's only maybe my 4th favourite Radiohead album, which says more about the consistency of their catalogue than the quality of this record While I would ordinarily give this a 5, considering every album here is regarded as one of the best of all time I'm being a bit harsher with my ratings, as there shouldn't be too many absolute stinkers. Therefore 5s are going to be relatively sparse, and The Bends can make do with a comfortable 4
Multiple songs saved but needed that one song to make it a near 5/5. Gonna say 4.4/5
lovely vibe some nice songs
Every song sounded identical and I don't think I could remember a single bit about any song.
It's not "Kid A", but I love a lot of tracks on here, especially the title track. And Radiohead always knows how to make a great closer!
Great
Radiohead are an overrated band. Not a bad band, those don't mean the same thing, but an overrated band. Their morose forays into depression and alienation lacked the passion to give punch to their themes. Much like Sonic Youth's bored rich kid noodling, it largely makes me ask, if you're not excited about the music you're making, why should I be? The Bends is a good album. It's one of their albums that suffers from this problem the least. There is a greater sense of urgency than on OK Computer or Kid A, which are the only other two albums that I would consider worth any amount of attention. Outside of that, too much of Radiohead is mumbling over skittering electronic beats.
It's a great album. We all know what came next, and I'm not going to judge this on that. So it gets 5 from me on it's own merit.
I never cared for radiohead, but I have a much better appreciation now. The music really holds up. I listened to more Radiohead and Thom gets a little whiney.
I really enjoyed this album. I've never gotten too deep into Radiohead beyond the hit songs, but I probably should spend some more time with their catalog. Sublime. 4 stars.
s'aight
I've listened to this album many times before and it is still my favourite Radiohead album. Not as alienating as some of their later stuff, but still sounds unique enough stand out from the other alt rock of its time
Absolute classic. Grabbed this recently on vinyl. May be still my favorite Radiohead album.
i like some songs on here
I see this as the gateway album into Radiohead. Their most accessible album and a great album on its own merit, but just doesn’t quiet match up to the genius of OK Computer and Kid A.
very good
Nice
Flew by on my first listen many months ago but now it's one of my top albums of '95. It's a massive improvement over their grunge-heavy debut Pablo Honey. In a lot of ways, this album reminds me of the Smiths, between the jangly guitar and mentally unstable, often haunting, lyrics that match the whiny baroque vocals. You can hear a lot of their ideas that'll come to greater fruition by OK Computer. Those first few songs really set the atmosphere, great songs back to back. I know the fanbase doesn't really like "High and Dry" but honestly I find it to be a perfect introduction to Radiohead, it was the first Radiohead song (besides "Creep" obviously) I could sing along to, before I actually became a fan. Two masterpieces, "Fake Plastic Trees" and "Street Spirit" represent exactly why the band is genius, even at this early stage, with other tracks close to that title. This is their most consistent effort, but it also comes with a weakness. The 2nd side is full of weaker tracks, with most of the positives to just be replicated from the better tracks. It doesn't mean they suck, but I don't like them for what they are, just what they're trying to be.
Pretty good. I prefer the later stuff.
90s era rock. I never got into Radiohead like all of my college friends did. An album that's easy to listen to with no real weaknesses ... unless you don't like grunge era guitar.
All tracks great. All tracks have inspired at least one inventive and interesting cover--that I know of. Shows that this all-time band was making excellent music even before they started going really weird. Now they’re making excellent music AND it’s really weird.
Perfect
Best songs: The bends High and dry Just (Black Star)
Tracks 1 - 6 are excellent, but too much filler afterwards. 3/5
Radioheads classic 2nd Album. great set of songs from Thom and the boys. I must admit I personally prefer "OK Computer" if I had to chose a favourite Radiohead album. This is great though and justifiably in this list. "High & Dry" "The Bends" "Fake Plastic Trees" and "My Iron Lung" are my favourites on this album. A good choice.
Loved the entire sound of this album! I've only heard few of their songs, but listening to the entire album went by so quick, I enjoyed it!
It's my favorite Radiohead album and probably the only one I'd still put on.
I already love Radiohead, so I knew I'd give it a 5, but it really is well deserved. This was the beginning of their metamorphosis into what they are today. (Pablo Honey is ass xD)
I’m not sure I like Radiohead but I love The Bends. Their next best songs (Creep, No Surprises) just sounds like tracks that could be off this album. Everything else I find boring or stressful. But this album really his the mark for me, perfect mix of grunge/BritPop/electro.
Actually way better than I expected! Really good 90s rock album
Good stuff
Took me a long time to really get into radiohead, but now i find myself enjoying pretty much all of their stuff
This falls into the category of most Radiohead I've heard - a little whiney, a little uncanny--musically interesting but not in a way that pulls it up out of just 'meh' for me.
Ich höre dieses Album Heute zum ersten mal, während ich im Homeoffice Papierkram mache. Für mich eine gute Background music 👍🏻😀
Oh I like High and Dry!! The second new song collected from this project so far (18 albums in) after The Boxer.
Hef ekki hlustað á þessa lengi, en hún er flottur fulltrúi þess tíunda. Nostalgísk en líka afar góð.
Svo gooooott! <3
Really solid sound throughout, radio head is definitely a solid band
It's hard to review this album on its on merits. It's the stepping stone between the debut and the lofty heights they would hit going forward. There are some really good songs here but also some so-so ones. It's definitely worth listening to, even if pretty much everything they've done after is much grander and better. Black Star might be the most underrated song in their discography. An absolute gem of a deep cut. 7/10
Brilliant! Can’t fault any of the tracks. One of the best albums ever.
Hits from start to finish
4.0
Well, that was cringetastic. I‘m probably through with that thing. I used to really love the band, though. Ages ago…
Ok
Did not remember it was this depressing.
"Fake plastic trees" saved, rest was ok.
Está bueno.
My Iron Lung var dålig. Några låtar är irriterande att lyssna på. Thom Yorkes sångröst är lite skavande. Planet Telex var väldigt bra. Det kändes som att många av låtarna var exakt likadana (Iallafall för lik stil). Ändå trevligt att lyssna på. Lite partiskt för jag älskar Radiohead.
It's downright frustrating how this album gets no love in the shadow of Radiohead's later, more experimental work. This is an album which exemplifies guitar-driven brit-rock, full of incendiary licks and inward-looking lyrics. It's almost as though the sheer consistency of this album is held against it compared to the zigs and zags of the following albums, even the zigs and zags within the tracks of those albums.
Everything is… broken
This came out the year I graduated high school. FPT still makes me feel something. It mean that Pablo Honey was a fluke and Radiohead were something. The slow songs are the best tracks, unfortunately.
This is a nice palate cleanser after The Avalanches. God I hate that record. I've got too many memories connected to this album to be truly objective, but it's a great 90s rock record. I will always love Just, but some of the maudlin numbers aren't all that great - high and dry / fake plastic trees.
Lol sure
More like a 4.5
Q: What's better, The Bends or OK Computer? A: Kid A Which isn't entirely fair...on OK Computer. But that's by the point What one often forgets is that Radiohead are a *brave* outfit. They're restless, adventurous, and have never been afraid to explore new territory. Which is saying something for a band of five guys who've been making music for 30 years. This is their last *explicitly* commercial album. Not in the sense that they aren't in the business of scoring and retaining a hold on a distinct fanbase (I think every musician wants this – its always a matter of scale, rather than intentions), but rather that they've worked from instinct rather critique ever since. I always think that the transition occurs somewhere between High and Dry and Street Spirit (Fade Out). The former is serviceable, but it's music making by supervision – where are the hit singles, etc. The latter isn't very far away from it, but it's much looser, less constrained, more ... real? It hasn't always been a smooth upwards trajectory ever since (Hail to the Thief and King of Limbs both have notable bad patches). But its been their own journey ever since The Bends
I had mostly avoided Radiohead for a decent portion of my serious music-listening life, partially by accident, so I think this was only their second or third album I've listened all the way through. Was pretty blown away on first listen and returning to this some months later felt the same. Guitar playing is infectious, grandiose and over-the-top at times in the right way. A 5! Already Saved: High and Dry; Fake Plastic Trees; (Nice Dream); Bullet Proof… I Wish I Was; Black Star; Street Spirit (Fade Out) Saved After Listening: Planet Telex, Just, My Iron Lung*, Sulk
Saved Prior: High and Dry Not Saved: 12. Bullet Proof ... I Wish I Was 11. My Iron Lung Cutting Edge: 10. Bones 9. Fake Plastic Trees 8. Sulk Off Rip: 7. Just 6. The Bends 5. Black Star 4. Street Spirit (Fade Out) 3. (Nice Dream) 2. High and Dry 1. Planet Telex Overall Notes: I hate to give this album a 5 considering how pretentious the Radiohead fandom is, but I really liked this album. Plugs the gap between alt-grunge and art-rock, guitar licks and quaint little melodies abound. A low five, but I take solace in knowing that most Radiohead fans consider this one of their lesser albums. Hope I don't look back on this review as a Radiohead stan and rue its writing.
Ik luister er naar maar ik ben niet geprikkeld. Dit is voor mij 13 in een dozijn pop/rock muziek. Het is niet slecht, maar ook niet bijzonder. Beetje saai eigenlijk. **
More like 3.7 because they haven't mastered the art of ethereal cryptic lyrics yet :p
With screeching guitars and poignant lyrics, sung beautifully by Thom Yorke, Radiohead improve on every single aspect of Pablo Honey. The Bends is an incredibly engaging record with a good variety of rock bangers and blisfully melancholic ballads, and it makes you feel like the world is caving in on you, just when you need it's structure most to support your desperate and delicate mind. It's a masterpiece, and easily worth a 5/5.
F’n A. Yup. So happy to see and hear this on here.
Added!
Fine but I don't get all the fuss about Radiohead. Seems a bit overrated.
Showing it’s age but it has a naïve quality that will never be captured again
Hard to believe this is 25 years old. It still sounds as fresh as it did back in 1995. It's something I've listened to regularly over that time.
Second Listen. Really loving this album. I want to give it a 5/5 but I'll stick with 4/5 for now.
Sequencia intensa.
Street Spirit one love
Already know and love this album better good to hear it again
What an album perhaps Radiohead's best collection of songs. Absolutely no filler. The 123 punch of The Bends, High and Dry and Fake Plastic Trees is nonpareil. Maybe it lacks the experimentalism of OK Computer and Kid A, but the songs are so strong that I can forgive the fact that it fits neatly into into the alt-rock formula. Besides you can see the seeds of OK Cokmputer in the closing track. I LOVE THIS ALBUM! 5 🌟
Ein zwiespältiges Album; zunächst der 90s Fat Rock Reason, warum spätere Erstlinge von Bands wie Muse immer in Richtung related artists gelabelt wurden (Wenn schon eine Band mit „M“ aus jener Zeit, dann lieber Medal mit dem Erst- und Einzling „Drop your Weapon“). Blockbuster Songs wie für die Titelseite des NME (inkl. Sonnenbrille und Lederjacke) und die Heavy Rotation bei MTV. Kann verstehen, warum sich einige abwandten, als Radiohead sich später von alten und vor allem über-maskulinen Klischees abwandten (klang Yorke je schnarrend-posiger als aufm Titelstück „The Bends“?). Und doch waren trotz allem „High and Dry“ & „Fake Plastic Trees“ das Versprechen, selbst mit der einfachsten Klampfe jemandem da draussen das juvenile Drinnen verständlich zu machen; die Ballade ist seit Bon Jovi & Guns‘n‘Roses der Gemeinplatz der Schüchternen. Doch inmitten all dessen, was erwartungsvoll nachm „Creep“ Hype auf diese junge Band losgelassen wurde, zeigen sie mit der Single „Just“ und „My Iron Lung“ etwas verstohlen Richtung „OK Computer“. Ihre Zeit kommt noch. Spätpubertäre 2.8
On par mit den besten Britpop-Zeitgenossen. Bei mir damals trotzdem nur am Rand der Wahrnehmung weil ich weiß auch nicht. Thom Yorkes Monstranz aus Artyfartyness wo ich doch nur dröhnen wollte? Egal, jetzt das, was sie dafür locker verdienen: 3,8.
I don’t think I can honestly give this anything lower than a 5. It was an atmospheric, melodic experience that I got lost in and didn’t want to find my way out of.
4. The Bends - Radiohead. 12 Tracks Fake Plastic Trees is 1 of the most beautiful songs written by anyone, ever, but with the exception of that & High & Dry, the album is filled with melancholy overrated rubbish.
Good track from Some Rap Songs
Наверно, единственный альбом Радиобашки, где меня не задолбал ужасный вокал Йорка и где нет конченого IDM.
Some outstanding music. Haunting and solemn, but melodic all at once.
The album that got me into Radiohead. So many amazing songs, even deep into the album. I could listen to it every day.
Sorry. I realize a 2 star rating will upset many people, but Radiohead has always been a snooze fest for me.
I liked it, but I'm not ready to give more than 3 stars
I've never understood all the fuss over Radiohead, but I'd also never heard this album through. Great stuff.
Some undeniably good music there, but I fail to see a grand vision for an album (as opposed to, say, Ok Computer). Either that or I simply outgrew this album.
this was fun. i've never really been into them, but not for any particular reason. i first heard high and dry as a cover by jamie cullum (which is amazing, btw), so it was cool to hear the original in context. also, hearing my iron lung made me desperately wish that they'd cover the killing moon by echo & the bunnymen. the intro is sooo similar, and it just screams to me that their cover would be incredible.
I've been friends with lots of people with lazy eyes in my life. For example Steph and I spent a whole summer together being Floyds and watching MTV. The summer of '95 was right before I moved to LA. The 'Just' music video played at least twice every hour, but it seemed like more. That was a clever video, it was great. Fake Plastic Trees, notsomuch. In the FPT video, Thom (pronounced 'Tom') turns the drama up to 11 while imitating a baby in a shopping cart. It was disastrous and didn't do the band any favors. Anyone that watched that immediately hated them, him, Thom (Tom). The album Pablo Honey, was good and an easy listen. The Bends, followed PH and was a logical extension of the first with more angsty, artsy-fartsy undertones thrown in. I liked it. Revisiting this album, it's not groundbreaking, but it's held up okay. This is more like a warm wool sweater that smells like home and you put it on when the leaves turn brown at the end of summer. The Bends is one of the quintessential albums of the 90's, and by those terms it's relatively traditional. There's heavy guitar reverb, song builds, and self-consumed lyrics with a tinge of despair. It is also the last album before the band becomes Radiohead. Before Ok Computer. Perhaps all of that self-introspection is authentic, Thom (Tom) isn't as insufferable as we thought. Maybe he was somehow able to see a future with machine learning, crappy politics, overconsumption, etc. and identify change is coming. Ok Computer, the album after The Bends was truly groundbreaking and set the band off in a new direction with intricate arrangements, new instruments, computers, electronica, etc. It's incredible that this is the same band. All good things come to an end. This album The Bends, marks the closing of an era, the end of summer, the end of Floyd and for me at least, the end of the 90's. It is the closing door that goes unnoticed and time moves on. REFERENCES Floyds = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIA-5l4tRyY Just = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIFLtNYI3Ls Fake Plastic Trees = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5h0qHwNrHk
Baby’s got the bends. You don’t have any real friends. This is TOTALLY how I feel as we try to re-enter somehow into the world. Our kids have to deal with very metaphorical decompression of going from lockdown or podding or significant isolation to freaking public school, crammed hallways, cramped school buses. But I like what the album conjures for me more. Another album that transports me to college. This one is glued to the membranes of my curious and trepidatious cells. It coaxed the leery adult from the grips of my apprehensive adolescence. It doesn’t hurt that I could figure out how to play most of these on the guitar—back when Radiohead’s simplicity matched my skill. I love the explosiveness of the Bends and Thom Yorke’s unbridled bellows. To playing on the upbeat in the chorus in Bones. “I used to fly like Peter Pan! All the children flew when I touched their hands.” (Nice Dream) sounds just like one to me. The melodic descent of the partial barre chords at the beginning contrasts with the whining riffs toward the end. Just has a cool rock-out start. I often quote this song (and not just nowadays): “You do it to yourself, you do, and that’s why it really hurts.” Ain’t it the truth. #maskupassholes #getthefuckingshot I love the cliffhanger chord that Black Star ends on. But I think my most favorite song is Sulk. I’m a sucker for slow builds. Simple single note motif on the guitar that leads to a more complex and interesting variation in the bass line that descends down the scale as he declares a holiday, falls asleep, drifts away. Radiohead and I kinda parted ways sometime around Kid A. We grew apart. Maybe my grown ass self should revisit the newer stuff and find something new about myself. We’ll see. Solid 5 from me.
It's kind of hard to put into words how amazing "The Bends" is. Radiohead, particularly the later stuff post-"OK Computer," can be pretty polarizing. Many are put off by Thom Yorke's wailing or the samples and computer blips or whatever. (I am not in this group.) But on "The Bends" what you get is peak Radiohead. A band that moved past a really solid but not groundbreaking debut to deliver a sophomore album that was a mature and unique example of a band finding their sound. (And then they continued to play with and tweak that sound relentlessly for the next decade. To subvert expectations? Who knows what's in the mind of these guys.) While Yorke's moaning and wailing are more exaggerated on later albums (while still working for me most of the time), on this album the vocals are a perfect instrument to complement the guitars (which do some wailing themselves, in a good way) and percussion. There are some songs where you can actually understand a bunch of the words(!), and Yorke writes some powerful lyrics. There are too many stellar songs to single them all out. It is a complete package, without a dud, from start to finish. I was curious for another perspective on the 1000 greatest albums one day when I was frustrated by another middling English band that never made it big across the pond, and found a list created by Colin Larkin in the late 90s, last updated in 2000. Unlike "1001 Albums You Must Listen to Before You Die," Larkin's list allowed fan voting from around the world. The top 10 is heavy with Beatles, as expected, but #2 is "The Bends." That's how good and influential this album is. While "Pablo Honey" feels fairly 90s, "The Bends" feels timeless. I think I like it even more every time I listen.
Yeah, this is a really good album. With the exception of My Iron Lung and Bones, I liked pretty much every thing else on it. I'll listen to this again, and again.
I first heard a song from this album, Fake Plastic Trees, in the movie Clueless staring Paul Rudd and some other people. This movie, and the Baz Luhrmann version of Romeo and Juliet (starring Paul Rudd!) which also featured a Radiohead song (Talk Show Host), introduced me to Radiohead and led me to an album that has become one of my top 5 favorite albums of all time. The album starts with a woosh like something is blowing in, then hits you with the guitars, and honestly this might be my second favorite opening to an album (behind the base line for Seven Nation Army). I get excited every time I hear that woosh because I know what is coming next. The layers of sound! The guitars get loud like an arena rock show, then soft again, always layered in a way that is indicative of how experimental they are/will continue to be. At times you get flavors of U2, Oasis, REM, and yet they have a sound that is uniquely their own. The music is always vulnerable, eerie at times, angry at times, and broken in the most hauntingly amazing way. I am a lyric person but despite the fact that I can't tell what Thom Yorke is saying 80% of the time, the combination of his voice and the music transcend the often unintelligible lyrics. The snippets of what come through can be devastating. The rejection of the fame/attention, the futility of life, and the intense longing to belong. The optimism and positivity is cut with cynicism (Nice Dream) but you are quickly brought back up from the nihilism of Fake Plastic Trees by the reverb-y guitars of Bones. They achieve a balance in this album that I can't find in many other works. Case in point is the fade out of Street Spirit which is a perfect contrast to the way the album wooshed in with Planet Telex The Bends would be in my desert island 5-disc CD changer. It perfectly encapsulated my 90s angst while managing, like Paul Rudd himself, to never age.
This is one of the toughest ratings for me yet. It took me a while to sort this album out in my head. I’d be listening and really liking some parts and then other times I’d pay close attention and not really be wowed. I had to listen to Kid A to get my bearings on The Bends because I’m more familiar with that album. Needless to say I like Kid A better. More on Kid A later when it comes up. One side note worth a paragraph. Listening to The Bends and Kid A back to back, there is a stark change in style. For the band to master such different sounds (I recognize folks consider this a masterpiece) speaks to Radiohead’s talent and range as musicians. Very impressive. One consistent thing I think elevates this album throughout is when Thom Yorke goes falsetto. I love that. This is one where the automated tennis video replay system would have to super zoom on top of the zoomed in view. I resorted to a yay, nay, or ok rating for each song, which guided me home. In the end, this album just didn’t quite tickle my fancy enough for the next highest rating…by the slimmest of margins. YAY Planet Telex High and Dry My Iron Lung Street Spirit (Fade Out) NAY (Not as in don’t like but rather, meh) The Bends Bones Bullet Proof…I Wish I Was OK Fake Plastic Trees (Nice Dream) Just Black Star Sulk
5! Great album
Perfection
A perfect rock album and the one that introduced me properly to the genre. I know and love every song. Absolutely untouchable (well, apart from the other fantastic Radiohead albums).
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Their best album and the purists can go fuck themselves 🙃 It’s actually a brilliant guitar album and there’s a reason fans still clamour for these songs live - it was before Radiohead got lost up their own arse. It came perfectly after the grunge hangover and was an anecdote to the Brit Pop bullshit
Great album. I wish I had been paying attention when it came out. Stellar band.
Good album. Maybe great? Not sure. I'd have to listen many more times before making that distinction. I think it would really grow on me though. Would tots listen again.
Слишком грустно, хорошо, но радиохед, не моё.
i really loved this album i thought it was so fun and just a good album to listen to
Categorizing this as "alternative" is a bit puzzling - this is a straight-up fantastic rock album that felt very fresh for the mid-90s. Incorporating modern elements/sounds into a layered guitar approach it was a great step above their meh debut album, and would only be a temporary stepping stone to their next string of albums which went off in then-unpredictable and amazing directions. I'm not entirely sure it's as revolutionary or amazing or alt-rock as was (is?) made out to be and if there's any negativity from me it's that at some point the songs do tend to blend in with one another somehow, despite the decent variety. Seems weird to say it but even though I like every song on this album, as a whole it bores me and I don't know if I have ever been able to sit through it at once. If you've heard and disliked later-period Radiohead give this a try as it is a far more traditional rock format in terms of the instrumentation and song structure. Highlights are "The Bends" "Fake Plastic Trees" and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" 7/10 4 stars
Learned how to play album straight through on Spotify.
A perfect straight ahead rock album for me. 3 guitars going at it for most of the songs
Una obra de arte. De los mejores discos que he escuchado en mi vida. Lo tengo en mi colección desde hace más de 15 años y estoy totalmente de acuerdo que deba estar en este listado. La mezcla de potencia y melancolía y los cambios en los arreglos son sorprendentes. Definitivamente este disco fue crucial en la historia de la música.
OK. Didn't feel like it was their best work.
It may not be their best album, but it is Radiohead's perfect, "no skip" album.
The real Radiohead definitely starting to show up here though I think better is yet to come.
i expected worse
Ehhhhh. Don't hate it. Can't love it.
I am a fan. First Radiohead I've listened to and liked. It makes me want to listen to their other stuff again. Maybe Kid A and OK Computer are actually good. Can't wait to check them out again. Great songs on this album start to finish.
The Bends goza de estar entre el odiado Pablo Honey y el glorioso OK Computer, siendo un álbum de transición que si bien no es ni la mitad de importante que su sucesor aun así logra brillar con luz propio. Más de la mitad del álbum está compuesto por absolutos clásicos del canon de la banda donde abandonarían poco a poco las influencias britpop de su debut para cementar el germen sonoro de lo que vendría a ser un futuro brillante. No creo que sea la obra maestra que muchos opinan, pero ciertamente es un trabajo destacable y más que relevante dentro de la discografía de la banda. Para mí un sólido 8/10
There do be some bops on this
incel rock nice
great!!!
Good to listen to when you want to punch someone in the throat 9/10.
Great album
Great album. Songs such as "High and Dry" and "Bones" remain personal favorites.
Sounded like whiny shit then, sounds like whiny shit now.
Great mid 90s melancholy alt rock!
little too slow and “sad” for my liking, but still good and listenable
Have listened to Radiohead before and do like them, just don't listen to them or think they are gods like some do. Highlighted songs: High and Dry, Nice Dream
The Bends is an album I have heard of but never had the chance to listen to. After "Creep" it catapulted them into the stratosphere. Their sound has influenced so many Brit Pop/Rock bands that have come after them, and in listening to this it becomes evident where the influences are. Best: The Bends; High and Dry Worst: Bullet Proof... I wish I was
5 Stars
Sadboy szn incoming, moody rock but very interesting motifs and overall a pleasant listen
Pretty good
this is the second to worst radiohead album but I still love it
really crazy trip down memory lane, honestly very much overlooked and underestimated this one
Pretty impressive 90s rock that is just as effective whether it’s cranked up or toned down. My favorite track is the opener, “Planet Telex”. Love that guitar effect they have going on throughout it. I could see this getting a higher rating once I have more time to spend with it but for now it’s a solid 3.
Great stuff
Finally something I know and that I was looking forward to listen to. Though I only listened to selected songs of this album before. I have a difficult past with Radiohead. I tried getting into them about 7 years ago. While some songs were great they just didn't become favourites. There is beauty to be found in Thom Yorke's voice many songs just didn't resonate with me at the time. Now, listening to "The Bends" as a full album I have to say I quite like it. It got high highs and many of them, though there are some lows for me as well. However, the highs outshine the lows in my opinion. I'm pretty sure that this album gets better the more you listen to it. Also, it's got that 90's - putting on your cheap headphones and listen to that album on repeat on your walkman - vibe to it. Favourite songs: Planet Telex, High and Dry, Fake Plastic Trees, Street Spirit
Absolute CLASSIC. Not a bad song on this album! Usual highlights but Fake Plastic Trees and Street Spirit are two of the greatest songs ever written! Absolutely love this album! ON THE VINYL LIST!!!!
one of my favorite albums of all time. although maybe not as influential as OK Computer or Kid A, the songwriting and melodies on this project are immaculate. fantastic project that i’ll continue to rotate until the day i die
and thats why it really hurts
I have this one, but haven’t played it in a long time. Did not have time to listen yesterday, but will revisit today.
solid.
6th best radiohead album is still an 8/10 lmao
Progressiv
No, sorry, don't like Radiohead. Don't understand all the hype at all. Media darling, whiney college kids. Kid A and OK Computer are always in the 'best albums ever' lists but I hate them and think they're shit.
Oh no. I can't bare Radiohead! Was what I first thought when I saw this was the album of the day. Where I can't deny, there are some really beautiful songs on this album - High and Dry an example. I just can't help wishing that someone else was singing them. It all stems from seeing them on TOTP, years ago and Thom Yorke just spitting everywhere whilst he sang. I just can't bare him! 😫
Great album, nice vibes throughout - so many classic noticeable tunes and also several unheard new favourites.
Don't really have anything to say. 5/5
I've never been a radiohead fan, I feel they are pretty overrated. That said, this was ok.
An alright '90s rock album. 7.5/10
Drugi studijski album iz 1994. Nisam preslusao sve, okejish... Nisam vise za taj zvuk
a favorita é fake plastic trees
Classic Radiohead. Songwriting is amazing.
Love Radiohead! Very good album start to finish, one of my favourites. Barely any downsides
pretty good innit
I hate to disappoint louis but i kinda didnt like this. It seemed pretty limp to me, like they were just being radiohead and nothing else, no tracks stood out and none stuck in my head, except for just but id heard that before. I dunno, i find all the other radiohead ive heard just a ton more interesting. Not offensive though so it gets a 2
BABY'S GOT THE BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENDS alright, in all seriousness, The Bends is a very very very good album. as the album that kicks off Radiohead's inhuman 26-year streak of exceptionally good albums, it contains all the nascent elements that make them arguably the best group to ever do it. unfortunately for this album - that position means that it is constantly compared to the albums that followed it, especially its older brother and greatest album of all time (in my Opinion) OK Computer. this tends to be an unfavorable comparison because - while all the things that make Radiohead Radiohead are present in this album, it's still very much bogged down in *genre*. while all the records following itare unique enough in their construction that you basically have to throw in the towel and say something like 'experimental rock' if asked about their genre - for about half of The Bends' tracklist, Radiohead are basically just doing Alternative Rock. to be fair though, The Bends is Radiohead doing alt-rock very very well - the title track is an exemplary britpop tune, with sneering verses and a soaring, anthemic chorus, fake plastic trees still stands as one of the band's best ballads which is *really* saying something, and even less pivotal tracks like bones or black star are still pretty good on the virtue of the instrumentation and vocals alone. the best songs on here however are the ones where radiohead is beginning to do their own thing - the strange, airy atmospheres of planet telex or bulletproof, and the moments on both of these tracks where thom's falsetto really PROPELY comes out. the best song on this entire album though is the closer however, where Radiohead's greatest strength as a band first becomes apparent - the ability to rip a specific feeling out of your psyche and then blast it back at you with twice the strength. street spirit (fade out) embodies the eldritch, existential horror of death & death anxiety so well that it is harrowing and genuinely hard to listen to. i never listen to this album on its own because hearing the end of street spirit fade into complete silence still leaves a pit in my stomach even after god knows how many listens. i'd give this album a 9/10, its closer to a 10 than an 8
Radiohead, nuff said
I think I like this more than any other Radiohead album. This is actually really good.
More accessible and perhaps conventionally rock than OK Computer.
If Pablo Honey was the band warming up, The Bends is where they truly start to find their signature sound. Simple and straightforward alt. rock songwriting is at the forefront here, and there are some really effecting tracks here. Street Spirits is a new favourite, and leaves me with a pit in my stomach. The tracklisting is almost perfect for this genre, and Radiohead is very close to perfecting this genre for the 90s, which isn't surprising that they jumped into more experimental waters after it's release. Onto bigger and better things. Fav tracks: Street Spirits (Fade Out), High and Dry, Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was and Fake Plastic Trees
The Bends is a transitional record for Radiohead, still operating in the alt-rock mode of Pablo Honey but suggesting the more experimental work to follow with Ok Computer. It's quite a trajectory and while perhaps the Bends doesn't reach the heights of Ok Computer, I'm enjoying it's more straightforward arrangements and pop songwriting quite a bit. Maybe that's an unfair comparison. "High and Dry" and "Fake Plastic Trees" are obvious highlights but the title track and "Street Spirit" are also really moving. Favourite tracks: The Bends, High and Dry, Fake Plastic Trees, Street Spirit
Mwah
Buen disco, aunque sigo prefiriendo el OK Computer
insert joke about benders here.
This is supposed to be brilliant, but it never did much for me.
Heard it before, and loved every second of it.
Talented lead singer with a good guitar
IT was just ok. some notable songs, but 3/5.
Drie keer laten spelen, maar geen enkele keer echt 'gehoord'.Het was zeker niet slecht, maar misschien is er een vierde keer nodig.
Al lang 1 van mijn favoriete albums! Logisch dat deze 5* krijgt
Wat een leuke bende !
One of my favorite albums from this band and from the 90s. Great melodies and beautiful arrangement and production.
Love it. The album where Radiohead showed truly how great they are. BT: The Bends, Just, Street Spirit.
I could crywank all night to this behemoth. Blisters on me fingers and on me dick. So much blood and so many tears. Like a recently widowed hedgehog trying to escape from a blender. Welp.
Met frisse tegenzin mijn grootste allergie aangegaan. Ok, ik heb niet de hele nummers beluisterd maar echt mijn best gedaan. Wat een zemelaars...
Thom Yorke's weird little talented face. Not as up its own ass as OK Computer and not as revered...but it's better, isn't it? Tweek my nipples.
Radiohead's first step beyond being "the Creep band". A stone cold classic. A stone cold classic made even better by having what looks like an Easter Island head in the final flings of ejaculation on the cover.
Briljante plaat! Klinkt ook nog steeds niet gedateerd...
All time favorite. Niets meer, niets minder
Appeltje-eitje: fantastisch album!
Van dit album kan ik huilen, zo mooi vind ik het.
Very relaxing music. Had several fav’s : Fake Plastic 🌴and High & Dry, My Iron Lung are great stand outs, Good lyrics, good music. The album cover is very creepy.
there are some pretty cool moments on here but I think they kind of get lost in an overall muddled/aimless feeling album. it's quite mopey (which worked okay on some of the tracks) and the vocals didn't grab my attention. probably would be a 2.5 there's some good stuff but none of it was really compelling or interesting to me.
It was fine? I didn't love it and it got a bit samey but the sounds were nice. I can't decide if it gets points or loses points for the terrifying album art
Radiohead is still kind of weird for me. Very listenable stuff, but wouldn’t seek it out. Like, not love.
Some alright songs but a bit depressing like. Wouldn’t choose to listen to it again but wouldn’t change station if it came on the radio.
Missed this album the first time around, a Radiohead album I can dance to! Bloody hell - I might start liking them!
I mean I hate Radiohead as much as the next man. But this was done well before they disappeared up their own arses and its a class apart isn't it? The first five songs alone are one of the best run of 5 songs back to back on any album I can think of. (Nice Dream) is a bit of a nothing track which is a shame. Just is one of the best Radiohead songs. So is My iron Lung. Both stone cold classics. The rest of the album is flawless and Street Spirit is a wonderful closer. Fuck. I wanted to hate this! Do I forgive it one forgettable track and give it a 5 or is it a 4? Its a 4 isn't it.
Pretty good listening, nothing really stood out to me.
"My Iron Lung" Released: 26 September 1994 "High and Dry" / "Planet Telex" Released: 27 February 1995 "Fake Plastic Trees" Released: 15 May 1995 "Just" Released: 21 August 1995 "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" Released: 22 January 1996 "The Bends" Released: 1996
This was one of the albums I had been waiting to listen to. This is an iconic album both in its cover and content. I thought the album was fine, good for some background music. I'm not a huge Radiohead fan and would categorize them with Smashing Pumpkins but I was glad to have listened. No songs really stuck out to me but I do enjoy the singers voice and some of the chords.
Radiohead is one of those bands that comes with a lot of baggage, so I will try to give it a fair listen. I like singing along to High and Dry. I will say, Thom York as a vocalist is very good. The album at mid way has a good sense of dynamism, even if it feels restrained. Just strikes me as very weird. My Iron Lung is a good tune. This album would be worth a revisit but right now I am just so sick of this English alt rock sound.
I'm not a fan of more recent Radiohead works, but this album has some type of rawness that really touches me. A great piece of art.
Bueno... Un dels àlbums de la meva vida. Quantes vegades l'hauré escoltat? Des que un company de classe me'l va deixar un dia (crec que va ser Francesc Roca, a 2n de BUP), em va enamorar. Els Radiohead venien amb la càrrega de l'èxit del tema "Creep", i amb aquest segon disc demostraven que no eren flor d'un sol dia, i que tenien molt a dir. L'àlbum comença amb la potent Planet Telex i ja no et solta fins la darrera nota de Street Spirit. Té singles inoblidables com Fake Plastic Trees, The bends o Just, i temes que posen la pell de gallina, com Bullet proof o High and dry. No sobra ni una sola cançó, i encara van deixar temes brutals per a les cares b, com The trickster o Permanent daylight. Aquest disc també representa l'inici de les crucials col·laboracions amb el seu productor Nigel Godrich, i l'artista Stanley Donwood. D'alguna manera, aquí és quan realment Radiohead s'acaba de formar, i ja no pararan d'evolucionar plegats i publicar sense pietat àlbums i més àlbums arriscats i d'enorme qualitat. El so de les guitarres en tot aquest disc és brutal, el punt just de potència i distorsió, i de delicadesa quan es necessita. La producció realment és exquisita, cada cançó té la seva pròpia personalitat i alhora totes juntes formen un tot indisoluble. El seu primer àlbum per a la història, i els que en vindran...
Cool, what can I say? I really want to love Radiohead but I'm incapable of listening more than 6 sons in a row :/
Vvvery good
I like it a lot. First half is a bit of a snooze fest even though I like the songs (don't leave me hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh). Once it gets to Just and the following higher-energy stuff, the album really picks up steam. This'll probably make it into my winter rotation of albums but isn't quite a 5 imo.
One of the best ever!
Good.
One of the greatest albums ever produced. Definitely in my top 5 by Radiohead.
It's tempting to give all Radiohead albums a 5, but this one has to get a 4 since my connection to it isn't as strong as some others. But overall they make genius music.
one of the great records of the 90's. excellent
C'mon! is friking Radiohead, what's not to like?
I've been secretly dreading the day we'd get a Radiohead album. Not because I think they're bad, but because I've put them off for so long. Well it's time to pay the piper. I'm enjoying this quite a bit. It's a lot less experimental than I was expecting, and I mean that in a good way. I assumed they would be pretentious artsy music but it's just good solid alt-rock. This album is on countless "best ever" lists, and I don't quite see that, but maybe if I heard it in the '90s when I was barely 2 years old I would see it. It's still great though, plenty to love. Favorite tracks: Fake Plastic Trees, High and Dry, Bullet Proof, The Bends. Album art: I'd say it's iconic. One of those "have you dreamed this man" sort of ubiquitous images. Which mannequin is getting the best (radio)head? 4/5
Sooo good!
I prefer their later, weirder albums, but re-listening to The Bends and it's really solidly well done - lots of great tunes. Fave track - "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", although "Fake Plastic Trees" is a close second...
Really good.
Amazing album. Top 3-4? Radiohead album. 9/10 1. Just 2. High and Dry 3. Planet Telex
Classic 90s, all the feels
loved this album, unfortunately i had already heard this but still real good 4/5
Will listen to again
Hit or miss for me
Love this one, heard it before
Love it but I liked OK Computer more.
Enjoyable all around, very catchy album - highlight track - L'America
Egg ok
Mid tier radiohead
So many greats
One of my favs
Pas mon delire quelques sons cools mais sans plus
really solid
Crap boobs crap
never listened to this one before but radiohead is my usual style so ill probably like it plantet telex bouncy but vocals eh bends solo neat noizy high and dry mood 👌 fake plastic trees is that moment in the film when things went to shit and they're all sad also GHOST KEYBOARD bones beginning ✨✨✨✨ nice dream is nice, yorks voice sounds gr8 here and the noisy solo just is fun my iron lung yes whiny vocalss refrão yesss bullet proof great, hearted black star roadtrip song sulk that 4 motif is cool Street spirit I love when it gets whiny and its obviously an End overall I liked it, its cool 4.5
Fantastic Radiohead...I live High and Dry
Already loved the album. Great sound such a classic.
Very good casual rock high and dry
Good songs
Still amazing. Even with the filler
This one was something else. I loved it. Great!
An all time great. I'm always amazed that this is their second album. When many bands load up their first with songs they've been writing since they formed and the second suffers, this is the opposite. Where "Pablo Honey" had "Creep" and not much else, this is all great to classic songs. Is it their best album? Maybe not. But within the scope of what it sets out to accomplish, it's entirely successful. I know I listen to it much more than "OK Computer" and is in my pantheon of favourite albums.
Enjoyed it very much. It's just a great melodic Brit rock album. Highlights: High And Dry and Just.
This incarnation of Radiohead is great songwriting before they started to branch out with more experimentation. The songwriting is rock solid and Street Spirit is one of my favourite tracks of theirs
yes
Surprised that I enjoyed this. A couple songs were pretty meaningless tho
all the songs sound the same but that's their vibe so /shrug
Enjoyed this early Radiohead album, but I like later albums more.
The vocals are hard to understand. It honestly all sounds the same. But maybe I'm too smoothbrained to understand.
Immerse your soul in love
Classic. Lots of nostalgia on this one.
Gr8
Not bad! Good, classic alternative.
Big surprise having never really listened to Radiohead before. Much catchier melodies than anticipated, as well as some songs that I already knew that I didn’t know were by them
High and Dry, Fake Plastic Trees poznate; Street spirit jedino super
some good songs but sometimes the inconsistent singing detracts from music quality
Great album mostly hits. Some unremarkable tracks
Ingen höjdarplatta med tanke på vad som kom efter. Men helt ok. Bäst: street spirit
Радиоголова на четверку точно тянет!
I have known, owned and loved this album since its release. I haven't listened to it in ages, it's still lovely, before Radiohead went past my threshold. It almost deserves the 5 rating for Street Spirit alone, what a tune that is.
Great listen!
Not my favorite Radiohead album but a great one
Me listening to the first third of this album: "I don't get it, these are some of my favorite Radiohead songs ever, why do people constantly dunk on this album?" Me listening to the rest of the album: "Oh."
Yeah, it's Radiohead. I was 20 when this came out and it takes me back.
RADIOHEAD
Love this album and the band
Slow rock. I like it. Will come back to listen again
High and Dry and Just were good songs. Not a big fan of the 90s.
Many load of rubbish. Avoid
Not my favourite Radiohead album, but still an excellent album
classic , know and love
Uma beleza, carrega comigo muito saudosismo. Baladas marcantes. produção impecável, como em todos discos deles.
Espetacular. Stellar. Radiohead como deveria ser até o fim.
One of my favorite Radiohead albums. Solid rock and catchy hooks.
The whole album is great from start to finish. A true classic in that it has indefinite replay desire.
3.5 a lot better when i was 15
Storslået, eksperimenterende, heftigt, melodiøst
Another reminder to listen to more Radiohead
1995: Planet Telex, High And Dry, Fake Plastic Trees, My Iron Lung, Bullet Proof ... I Wish I Was
Everything is broken, am I really sinking this low? I bet you think that's pretty clever, don't you boy? My fake plastic love, I don't want to be crippled and cracked. The sea would electrocute us all and that's what really hurts; a total waste of time. I wish that I was bulletproof, sometimes you sulk, sometimes you burn. Immerse yourself in love.
emily b very nice name now get back to work buddy
fatasss album dm me @pizzaupmynose on ig
hmmm ill give this a 3 lang, i think this is not one of their best albums
ok so I don't like radiohead much at all, but I can at least stomach the first two albums in that "I don't like it but at least time doesn't slow to a crawl while it plays" way. there's still a TINY bit of rockin edge to this and htey hadn't gone into full goes-nowhere-rock territory just yet. 2/5 - 1 point because that's the lowest mark, and 1 extra point just because it wasn't as mind-numbingly "fuuuuucking hell, is this over yet?!" boring as radiohead got later on.
Don't even need to listen. One of the best albums of all time.
not a fan of radiohead