OK Computer’, Radiohead’s third album, is the bombastic follow-up to 1995’s sleeper hit ‘The Bends’, which left critics and listeners as impressed with the band’s ability as they were curious about their potential. In spite of its technological-sounding title and apocalyptic sci-fi themes, ‘OK Computer’ is firmly grounded in the rock verities. Waves of guitars rage beneath the haunting melodies and near-hysterical fits of singer Thom Yorke. This complex, intense swarm of guitars is held aloft by a solid, inventive rhythm section and an impressive array of piano and keyboard textures. ‘Paranoid Android’ is a six-minute-plus epic with alternating time signatures, wild dynamic shifts, drama and adrenaline to spare. ‘Let Down,’ with its double-tracked vocals and rhythmic throb, may give a brief glimpse back at Radiohead’s past, but at no point is ‘OK Computer’ anything but a hurtle forward.
