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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Amnesiac
by Radiohead
These eleven tracks were recorded during the same sessions that produced 2000's 'Kid A,' but are a bit more song-like and a bit less electronic.
| LABEL: |
Capitol |
| RELEASE DATE: |
05 June 2001 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Alternative, Rock |
NOTES: Also available in a limited edition release with a 32-page booklet. Also available on vinyl.
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
90
Alternative Press
More often than not, Amnesiac finds a balance between twiddling and transcendence. [Jul 2001, p.79]
90
Billboard
By resolutely forgetting formula, Radiohead proves itself all the more relevant with Amnesiac.
90
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...
85
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.
85
Nude As The News
It is hard to shake the feeling that these songs may actually be leftovers.
80
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.
80
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".
80
Mojo
Deliriously provocative, Amnesiac is as splendidly other and awkward as its sister album. [Jul 2001, p.104]
80
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.
80
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.
80
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.
80
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.
80
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]
75
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.
70
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.
70
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.
70
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]
70
HOB.com
Much of the time, Amnesiac ends up sounding more like a work in progress than the band's crowning opus.
60
All Music Guide
Amnesiac plays like a streamlined version of Kid A, complete with blatant electronica moves and production that sacrifices songs for atmosphere.
60
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.
60
New York Magazine
Too tentative and slight to be genuinely moving.
58
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]
58
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."
40
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.
40
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]
The average user rating for this album is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 74 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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