The real issue, though, is how the new record stacks up to OK Computer , an album that topped many a best-of list in 1997. Songs float by in dreamlike soundscapes that require several hearings to sink in. In fact, on first listen, Kid A is a sprawling, glorious mess, demanding your attention in only the subtlest of ways. By the time the 50 minutes of music are over, you'll be hard-pressed to remember any of it. But subsequent spins reveal its layered beauty, and therein lies the Kid 's real reward.
Silences permeate the disc, an effect that only increases the nocturnal feel of most of the songs.
This tension continues on the title track, probably the album's most disturbing moment. Based on a repetitive drum pattern, the song uses effects to make Yorke sound as though he's been submerged. Radiohead took a monumental step forward on OK Computer , but Kid A sounds merely like a logical extension of its predecessor. After two sonically challenging records in a row, that follow-up may be Radiohead's defining moment. Until then, you'd do well to put on the headphones, spark up a fat one, and dive straight into the New Age stoner rock that is Kid A .