Hail to the Thief

レディオヘッドの傑作アルバムがXL Recordingsから限定アナログ盤でリイシュー!
2003年にリリースされ全英チャート1位、全米チャート3位、オリコン洋楽チャート2位を獲得した6thアルバム!『キッドA』『アムニージアック』のエレクトロニックサウンドの要素も持ちながらも初期のギターロックへと回帰を果たした!2004年グラミー賞「最優秀エンジニアアルバム賞」受賞!

Radiohead's admittedly assumed dilemma: how to push things forward using just the right amounts of the old and the older in order to please both sides of the divide? Taking advantage of their longest running time to date, enough space is provided to quench the thirsts of resolute Bends devotees without losing the adventurous drive or experimentation that eventually got the group into hot water with many of those same listeners. Guitars churn and chime and sound like guitars more often than not; drums are more likely to be played by a human; and discernible verses are more frequently trailed by discernible choruses. So, whether or not the group is to be considered "back," there is a certain return to relatively traditional songcraft. Had the opening "2 + 2 = 5" and "Sit Down. Stand Up." been made two years before, each song's slowly swelling intensity would have plateaued a couple minutes in, functioning as mood pieces without any release; instead, each boils over into its own cathartic tantrum. The spook-filled "Sail to the Moon," one of several songs featuring prominent piano, rivals "Street Spirit" and hovers compellingly without much sense of force carrying it along. Somewhat ironically, minus a handful of the more conventionally structured songs, the album would be almost as fractured, remote, and challenging as Amnesiac. "Backdrifts" and "The Gloaming" feature nervous electronic backdrops, while the emaciated "We Suck Young Blood" is a laggard processional that, save for one outburst, shuffles along uneasily. At nearly an hour in length, this album doesn't unleash the terse blow delivered by its two predecessors. However, despite the fact that it seems more like a bunch of songs on a disc rather than a singular body, its impact is substantial. Regardless of all the debates surrounding the group, Radiohead have entered a second decade of record-making with a surplus of momentum. ~ Andy Kellman

ロック界にとっても彼ら自身にとっても一大転機となった2部作──『Kid A』および『Amnesiac』から2年、引き続きナイジェル・ゴッドリッチと共同プロデュースした新作が登場。詞の面では〈邪悪で巨大な得体の知れぬ権力に対峙するヒューマニティー〉とでも総括できそうな統一感がある一方、サウンド面はかつてないほど多彩だ。聴き手をアブストラクトな混沌の坩堝に放り込むエレクトロニック・トラックから、ピアノを伴った美しいバラードやルーツ的な趣のギター・ロックまで、一切制限を設けずにクリエイティヴィティーの蓄積を瞬間的エネルギーに包んで放出したかのよう。1年間の実験的作業から誕生した前2作品に対して今回は2か月でレコーディングが完了したことからも窺えるとおり、本作はユニットとして成熟した絶好調な状態を誇示するキャリアの集大成と呼べるものかもしれない。
bounce (C)新谷 洋子