'Hail to the Thief' first stands as a continuation of Radiohead's previous two releases, 'Kid A' and 'Amnesiac'. At its strongest points, it is driven by the blend of sleepy piano, raucous guitar, and the synthesized drumbeats that have contributed to the success of the most recent albums. The techno-driven beats of "Backdrifts" and "The Gloaming" remind the listener of "Idioteque" or "Packd Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box." The band's earlier albums also bring their unique characteristics into play: the guitar-driven "Go to Sleep" sounds like it came straight off 'The Bends', along with "Myxomatosis" and its wicked, adrenaline-charged bass riff. Even though "We Suck Young Blood," one of the album's best cuts, starts as a humming dirge, its crash toward a piano-heavy climax is thrilling, and allows bandleader Thom Yorke to manipulate his vocal talents to their utmost level.

This struggle of reconciliation between the hard and soft sounds of Radiohead hints at its inherent vulnerability-a good part of what sets it apart from other bands. "Where I End and You Begin" is a gorgeous, complex song; Yorke's at-first emotionless vocals are brought to a new intensity with synthetic instrumentals and the album's focus on singing just as much as that which backs it up. It is apparent that 'Hail to the Thief', much more than past albums, uses Yorke to bring even more depth to its songs as he provides them with both harmonies and melodies. And they meld perfectly: his voice soars on the more muted, orchestral pieces such as "Sail to the Moon" and "I Will" (during which, amidst the band's characteristic political thoughts--this time of nuclear fallout--Yorke's voice is at its strongest yet most delicate when he quietly wails, "I won't let this happen to my children").

To argue with Yorke's claim in the album's first single, "There There"-"just 'cause you feel it doesn't mean it's there"-there is *much* below the surface of 'Hail to the Thief'. It is not another 'Amnesiac'; nor does it abandon everything the band has done in the past few years and return to the simpler days of 'The Bends'. Rather, it is a combination of Radiohead's past, as well as another strong impetus toward continued future innovations and success.

Radiohead reach their maturity
With this album Thom Yorke and his band show us their full maturity, as the Beatles did with the White Album. Radiohead play their songs in complete harmony: they create a perfect alchemy and Yorke is one of the most passionate, inspired singers of the last 50 years. The first track, "2+2=5", is a very powerful musical explosion: with this song, the band tells us that R'n'R is not dead-but it isn't Bill Haley any more. The world changes and music reflects its growing inhumanity. HTTT is not only about politics and corruption: it is a poetical analysis of human condition. There are bitter critics about social problems, but there never is the immaturity of "Electioneering": lyrics always are imaginative and each line has several meanings. The band reaches incredible heights of lyricism with tracks like "Sail to the moon", "I will", "A punchup at a wedding". "We suck young blood" is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting songs: it is simple like a traditional ballad and you can hear echoes from Kurt Weill's music. In this song, the rhythm is emphasized by slow claps that create a gloomy atmosphere, as if we were on a slave ship. Electronic sounds, electric guitars, croons and shouts mix together and the result is an impressive and intense album: a great masterpiece. When you listen to these songs, you reflect on the tangled catacombs of modern life and on the unfathomable abyss of subconscious. The music speaks for itself: this is a great work of art.

they got their energy back
There is a point as a musician where you stop experimenting with new things and do what you know how to do as well as you can possibly do it. Radiohead is a mature band now, and I would compare this album's mood to the Bends more than anything after that because it takes what has already been done and just squeezes all the possibilities out into what may be their most finely tuned album yet. They are using thier minor failures of the past to make sure there are no missteps here; in other words, structurally, this album pretends Kid A and Amnesiac never happened. The electronic aspect has not been discarded, however, but even in the IDM tracks, Thom Yorke says more than he's said since OK Computer. I think his lyrics are better than they've ever been, and the musical aspect of the songwriting is in top form as well. The key is that, even though the thematic and political element of this album is like OK Computer, each track is in perfect balance with itself, just like the Bends, but this time there is so much more to work with.
2+2=5 is sure to become another of their classic openers, going from a melancholy 7/4 lament to a screaming frustrated rock song that keeps changing. Sit Down Stand Up is hypnotic and unusual, and the rest of the album is dynamite, never repeating itself (like Kid A and Amnesiac did), and having emotions that range from quiet ballads (I Will, Sail to the Moon) to unexpected and very loud techno bits (Myxomatosis). The atmosphere is impeccable on tracks like We Suck Young Blood and perfectly ironic on songs like A Wolf at the Door. I cannot repeat that whether you like every song or not, there is little you could do to improve on any aspect of any of them. No matter when you started listening to radiohead, or whether you never started, this may be their finest work.

Great Album
While I can't say this is my favorite Radiohead album, I give it 5 stars because it's still better than 90% of everything else.

2+2=5 - Starts slow then explodes into a defiant/paranoid rock song. Great opener for the album. (9/10)

Sit Down, Stand up - One of my favorites. It's got that distinct Radiohead haunting/gloomy feeling that you either love or hate. I love it. I also like the song drastically changes about halfway through. (10/10)

Sail to the Moon - Pretty solid song. It's a little slow, but very pretty. The lyrics are nicely done as well. (9/10)

Backdrifts - Atmospheric, but not as strong as the other opening tracks. (8/10)

Go To Sleep - I have no idea what this song is doing on this album. It completely disrupts the flow set by the first four tracks and doesn't seem like it fits anywhere else either. In addition to that, it sounds like a rock song any other band might make. Or maybe something that might have appeared on Pablo Honey or The Bends. Not what I've come to expect from Radiohead. (4/10)

Where I End And You Begin - I've only listened to this one a few times, but I can't bring myself to like it as much as some of the other tracks. The lyrics are hard to make out and the sound isn't particularly great either. (6/10)

We Suck Young Blood - Another one of my favorites. Seems slow and boring at first, but once you adjust to it you can appreciate its musical genius. It's also a little creepy, so it fits in well here. (10/10)

The Gloaming - Not quite on par with Sit Down Stand Up or We Suck Young Blood, but good nonetheless. Sounds kind of techno-ish. (9/10)

There There - It's ok. Nothing special. (7/10)

I Will - Short, but powerful. Has some touching vocal harmonies and great lyrics. (10/10)

A Punchup At A Wedding - I really can't decide if I like this one. I can't figure out how it connects to the rest of the album. (7/10)

Myxomatosis - Another favorite of mine, mostly due to the lyrics. Nice sound too. (10/10)

Scatterbrain - Eh. This is my least favorite song on the album, aside from Go To Sleep. It just sounds...ugly. (5/10)

A Wolf at the Door - I don't understand why this one is so well-liked. Maybe after a few more listens I'll like it more, but at the moment I don't see what all the fuss is about. (7/10)

My ratings might look kind of low for an album that I gave five stars. It's just because I'm hard to please, and I also hold Radiohead to a higher standard. Trust me, this album is well worth your money.

Excellent!!
I have always enjoyed any album from Radiohead, but by far this is my favorite so far. Can be "gloomy", but I love a good gloomy album. The albums flows well, excellently blended along with great lyrics. I find that I could listen to this over and over again. If I had to cut my CD collection this would be a CD that would make it high on the list.
Filling the gulf between OK Computer’s epic progressive rock and Kid A’s skittering electronic theatrics, Hail to the Thief borrows equally from each. Its title implies that this will be a collection filled with songs of anger and dissent, but Radiohead no longer howl at the moon like they did on 1995’s The Bends. Instead, they use eloquent metaphors and complicated arrangements to express the uncertainty, fear and anger arising from the 2000 U.S. presidential election and a post-9/11 world. There’s no doubt about where Thom Yorke and company stand; the prog-rock break on "2 + 2 = 5" and Yorke’s terror at the thought of being "put in a box" make that immediately clear. But there's a prevailing sense of powerlessness here. The tinkling piano behind the cold sonic surface of "Backdrifts" and the brief, swooping melody in the middle of "Sail to the Moon" are islands in a sea of confusion. Like all of the band’s best work, Thief requires more than a few listens to fully appreciate, but those who stick around will be richly rewarded. --Matthew Cooke