Looking back on Radiohead’s sixth album Hail To The Thief a few years after its release, Thom Yorke was surprisingly candid about where he thought it stood in the band’s illustrious catalogue. “We knew that was the lower part of the curve,” reflected the frontman. It did not take long for anyone, the band themselves included, to realise that this was not Radiohead at their imperial peak.
Another anniversary for the album rolls around this week, a yearly reminder at just what an anomaly Hail To The Thief is amongst their output. Their records usually come fully formed, belonging to a certain time and place and inhabiting their own sonic space and feel, albums to stop and immerse yourself in. Hail To The Thief felt more like a long commute. It was the one that got away, a record not without a handful of supreme moments but one that feels like it’s got a few outtakes clinging on to its undercarriage.
