Quote:
Originally Posted by Stu
Having had a week to digest KOL, I'll say this: It certainly isnt boring. The interplay between rhythm and texture is facinating - there are so many layers to the songs that it really requires the listener's full attention to appreciate what they're actually listening to. I still think it's too early to regard it as a classic or whatnot, but it has grown on me. Although one thing I do think is that it sounds incomplete. I fully expect a part 2.
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I disagree with it being quite so multifaceted as you describe. Or, at least, it is not unusually multifaceted. There is a great deal more cutting edge material than this in the alternative-electronica oeuvre. See Flying Lotus for example (as it happens, a few tracks on this record reminisce strongly of said artist).
In terms of classic status, the jury seems already to have come in with their verdict. This is already the worst-received Radiohead record in the critics community since Amnesiac. As for fans, they seem way more divided over this release than they were over In Rainbows, which was almost unanimously adored from the word go. It is my belief that the vast majority of albums are in future remembered according to how they were perceived upon initial release. This is not a Radiohead classic, and, not being a ground-breaking release by any sane standards, nor does it deserve to be so regarded.
However... I personally really like this album. It is one of my favourite Radiohead releases. I think I can get more pleasure from listening to this album than to much of their other material. That is not because it is 'cutting edge' or anything else that it is clearly not. What makes me love this record is that it is more in tune with the general gist of current indie/alternative music than previous Radiohead releases have been. It reminds me of other music that I love, and hence, I love this record. Every song is great, and they all fit together in a way that also makes this album greater than the sum of its parts. That's enough of an achievement for me. Radiohead get my full marks here....
....But, all the same, it is understandable that this will not be the general consensus.