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Alternative Press

More often than not, Amnesiac finds a balance between twiddling and transcendence. [Jul 2001, p.79]

Billboard

By resolutely forgetting formula, Radiohead proves itself all the more relevant with Amnesiac.

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Pitchfork

Quality aside, the questionable sequencing of Amnesiac does little to hush the argument that the record is merely a thinly veiled b-sides compilation...

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Wall of Sound

A sonic extravaganza for effects-loving headphone devotees, Amnesiac is another Radiohead effort that requires a bit of a leap to get into but is pretty unforgettable once you're there.

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Nude As The News

It is hard to shake the feeling that these songs may actually be leftovers.

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Q Magazine

Either Yorke’s lyrics are better this time, or the comparative voluptuousness of the vocal performances make it easier to tune in, or we’ve finally grasped what he’s been getting at since abandoning OK Computer’s more straightforward man-vs-society musings.

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PopMatters

This album is admittedly not as powerful as Kid A in many respects-nowhere are there songs as intense and bristling with action and desire as "Idioteque" and "National Anthem"; nowhere is there a song as sublimely beautiful and tragic as "How to Disappear Completely".

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Mojo

Deliriously provocative, Amnesiac is as splendidly other and awkward as its sister album. [Jul 2001, p.104]

Village Voice

Where Kid A couldn't help but be seen as a reaction to fame and intense scrutiny, Amnesiac illuminates what Radiohead are now, and will likely be for a long time: an evasive, willfully experimental rock band who feel uncomfortable in their own skins.

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New Musical Express

Despite Thom Yorke's assertions that 'Amnesiac' stands alone, it complements 'Kid A' so beautifully, develops it with such conviction, that the idea Radiohead ever cut themselves off to spite their fans suddenly seems irredeemably churlish.

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Dot Music

Yes, and it's just as frustrating, too, and fiddly and awkward and self-conscious and self-important and neurotic and panicky, and as often ugly as it is beautiful, and as often pompous or irrelevant as it is profound. Just as you've come to expect.

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Sonicnet

Radiohead have remembered how to feel, and do so without relying on the arena rock bluster of The Bends, the Orwellian remoteness of OK Computer or Kid A's pretense as a sort of MC Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. That's why Amnesiac sounds like their best album.

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Blender

Amnesiac isn't a difficult album -- or, rather, it's not a mere experiment but a successful one... Nobody has ever made a record that sounds like this before. [Jun/Jul 2001, p.109]

Spin Cycle

"Amnesiac" deepens the mystery that Radiohead began with its curious, largely electronic 2000 release, "Kid A," and certainly won't satiate those awaiting the lauded band's supposed return to guitar-heavy epics.

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Rolling Stone

Amnesiac is full of computerized clicks and hums - the kinds of tracks made by geeks alone with their gizmos - and of instruments and voices so heavily filtered they sound alienated even from themselves.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Like Kid A, Amnesiac will be dismissed by some as an inconsequential indulgence, a mere sequel, or even a collection of lesser, leftover material. But the truth is, the band shows no intention of turning back. Nothing beats a good surprise, and Radiohead is full of them.

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Spin

And this is how Amnesiac goes, or doesn't: Resonant, dusty somethings, not much on their own, line up and aggregate into something fluid and sweetly steady. [Jul 2001, p.124]

HOB.com

Much of the time, Amnesiac ends up sounding more like a work in progress than the band's crowning opus.

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All Music Guide

Amnesiac plays like a streamlined version of Kid A, complete with blatant electronica moves and production that sacrifices songs for atmosphere.

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Neumu.net

The spirit of Syd Barrett seems to loom over this record more than either of the previous Radiohead longplayers, and that's not a bad thing at all.

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New York Magazine

Too tentative and slight to be genuinely moving.

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Entertainment Weekly

By the sound of it, Radiohead have strayed off into the same territory Yes did over a quarter century ago -- and two pieces of marginalia in a row don't bode well for the outcome. [8 June 2001, p.72]

E! Online

While this sounds mostly like incomplete leftovers, there are a few tasty treats: The lonely guitar of "Knives Out," that dirty beat pulsating under "Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" and the hypnotic body-ponging of "I Might Be Wrong."

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Playlouder

Repeated listens draw out its infinite flaws, its awful smugness, and remind you that were this not A Radiohead Album it would have been consigned to the pile marked 'Not A Patch On Aphex Twin' last week.

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The Wire

Pleasant, yes, but not much more.... Too many of these 'songs' snap off at around the three or four minute mark, just as they start to get interesting.... It sounds consistently half-there. [#208, p.52]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 83 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Robbie C gave it a9:
A beautiful album. Kid A's retarded kid sibling... so strange.. so amazing.

Stacy H gave it a10:
By far the most deep and dark record of Radiohead's. The album's opening tracks are just great, Kives Out is beautiful, and Hunting Bears is surreal.

Erik H gave it a7:
Kid A was brilliant, but Amnesiac is simply above-average. There are very few songs to fall in love with (if any) and it gets old after a certain number of listens rather than steadily growing on you. Easily the band's worst album (other than the rock-by-numbers Pablo Honey).

Bob R gave it a10:
don't overlook this album! And yes, You and Whose Army is awesome.

Max M gave it a10:
I like every song on this album except for the new version of Morning Bells.

Ryan J gave it a10:
One of the most amazing albums ever made. Pyramid Song will continue to haunt for decades.

N E gave it a9:
Radiohead's worst album was Pablo Honey. This, as Kid A's little brother, is only weaker because it has filler (Pull/Pulk Revolving Doors, Hunting Bears). The rest is incredibly amazing.

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