KID WHO?

Sonically daring and lyrically challenging, Radiohead’s follow-up to the hugely successful OK Computer was the result of much suffering.

So began the Discrepancy Records article on Kid A, posted mid-2021. At that point we had no idea the album would be re-released, along with companion piece Amnesiac, some months later. In fact there is more than the two post OK Computer albums in the Kid A Mnesia package. We also get a third record of unreleased music from the same sessions that for some reason merits its own title: Kid Amnesiae. Playful? Pretentious? Signal of a separate free-standing release to come? Who knows; it’s Radiohead.

Housed in a neat three-pocket book-styled sleeve, the bonus disc is the sandwich filling between the 2000 and 2001 Radiohead albums. Let’s deal with the outside layers first.

Incorporating contemporary electronic devices as well as vintage synthesisers, Kid A was widely acclaimed as a masterpiece. For those who were already on board with independent German rock of the 1970s (aka Krautrock), the echos of Can and Faust were exciting and not at all off-putting. For others, the album was more of a stretch. Yet stretching is what fans (and critics) did; twenty odd years later it is seen as just as significant as the influential OK Computer. Read more about Kid A in the earlier post here.

The music on Amnesiac was recorded simultaneously with Kid A and was always planned as a distinct release. So when it appeared eight months later, fans were primed. Maybe some were still a little raw after the scraping away of OK Computer expectations the previous year, but they need not have worried. Amnesiac is a more accessible, warmer album than its chilly predecessor. Hearing the two back to back is an incredible trip into both the past and future of rock music; neither album has dated.

How you respond to the middle disc, Kid Amnesiae will largely depend on your level of Radiohead fandom. The committed will enjoy textural insights such as the isolated string sections that sound like ambient film music. Others will focus on the actual songs, including "If you say the word" and "Follow me around" with its strummed acoustic guitars. The song titles of this third disc offer some clues to its genesis. Three pieces are called "Untitled", a clear indicator of works in progress or cast-offs. Still, there’s no disagreement that Radiohead’s leftovers are worth hearing.

Thinking about this package as a whole, I found myself visualising a gallery installation where the first room (Kid A) really hits you with something profound, different, and at times breathtaking. The second feature room is a development, a consolidation, allowing you to breathe deeply and immerse yourself without fear. In between, you pass through a workshop, cleaned and tidied for public display, where you can see the parts, process, and models of the main exhibition. It is a satisfying journey that will intrigue fans, but perhaps more importantly, offer a rich entry point for those who missed the albums two decades ago. They will come away filled with music and emotionally stirred by these offerings from one of rock’s most significant bands.

FOOTNOTE/DISCLAIMER

Fans of post-rock innovators Tortoise might recognise the homage to the cover of TNT in the feature image accompanying this post.

© Bruce Jenkins 2021