Radiohead

    Radiohead

    Oxford, United Kingdom21 reviews across 7 releases

    alternative rockart rockelectronicexperimental
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    Radiohead is an English rock band formed in 1985 at Abingdon School in Oxfordshire as On a Friday; the group changed its name after signing with EMI in 1991. Thom Yorke's writing gave the band a characteristic tension between personal estrangement and wider unease. The 1997 album OK Computer used layered guitars and electronic detail to build a dark, progressive form of alternative rock, with songs that worked most fully as a connected sequence. Kid A then stripped away much of the rock band's familiar shape, replacing prominent guitars with keyboards, programmed rhythms and warped vocals. Its fractured structures and obscured lyrics divided reviewers, though repeated listening brought out greater detail for some. By Hail to the Thief in 2003, guitars and more recognizable songs had returned without displacing the electronic unease.

    After Hail to the Thief, Radiohead released further studio albums and continued touring, eventually issuing A Moon Shaped Pool in 2016. The group's later work remained separate from its earlier guitar-rock identity, while retaining the tension between song form and electronic experimentation established by Kid A. Following the tour for A Moon Shaped Pool, the band entered a long hiatus. Yorke and Jonny Greenwood worked in other musical settings, while the remaining members also pursued projects outside Radiohead. The group returned to live performance in 2025, when its five members reunited for European shows after seven years away from the stage.

    7 releases reviewed