:: a.whisper.in.water ::

:: Friday, November 26, 2004 ::

[ i haven't the foggiest idea why i wrote this... ]

...save that it felt necessary, especially after reading glowing reviewer comments that had no place being made. This is, essentually, a dashed-off review of Radiohead's Com Lag EP, released only in Japan (hence, absurd prices elsewhere, such as Amazon). On to the amateurism.

****

Perhaps it's not fair to Radiohead that their releases undergo some of the strictest scrutiny of most any of their contemporaries, but luckily enough, the Com Lag EP makes it easy to distinguish between unjustly high standards and an unambiguous act of disrespect to one of the most fervently loyal fanbases currently enjoyed by modern music. Not since Björk's bilk-tastic Family Tree Box Set has a consumer had the opportunity to burn so much cash on something so devoid of merit.

That's not to say that the EP isn't possessed of any redeeming qualities, mind you. As derivative as they can be, Radiohead's forays into experimental electronic music rarely fail to please; the curiously-named-in-a-bad-way "Paperbag Writer" falls far short of the searing menace of “Idioteque,” but is in its own right a decent track. The schizophrenic, gauzy “Where Bluebirds Fly” is a personal favorite, and probably the most demonstrative of Radiohead’s sound sense of experimentation and constant reinvention, though it suffers from the same problem as “Paperbag Writer” in its title, though odds are it’s just me. (Think “When Doves Cry,” by Prince. Again, it’s probably just me, but “Paperbag Writer” most definitely isn’t.) “I Am Citizen Insane” is well-textured and dynamic, and reminds me of a double-time Boards Of Canada, if only a little.

The standout track of the EP is the casually gorgeous “Fog (Again),” a live piano-and-vocals revisitation of the phenomenal B-side “Fog” from a better era of B-sides. Featuring the same turnabout-style chord progressions as “True Love Waits” and lazily airy vocals from Thom Yorke, it’s easily the strongest track on an EP that, when not redundant, is simply poor. The live take of “2+2=5” brings nothing novel in Radiohead’s interpretation of a phenomenal album opener, save a tight live show, which is somewhat rare for the studio-friendly band. “Remyxomatosis” showcases little more than Cristian Vogel’s astounding ability to senselessly butcher one of the strongest tracks from 2003’s Hail To The Thief, rendering it sputtering, impotently manic, flaccid, and inexcusable. The driving, psychotic bassline is completely absent, replaced instead with overfiltered potsandpans drums and insipid horror-movie sound effects. Any last trace of a hook found in the original is thoroughly steamrolled into an amateurish collage of uninspiring IDM spooge: even Thom’s near-perfect start-stop cadence in the chorus has been rushed, altered, and ultimately cheapened.

What I can only interpret as Radiohead’s attempt at the blues, “I Am A Wicked Child” is downright dismaying: sloppy, spiritless, and wanky, I sincerely can’t imagine what merit Radiohead saw in its inclusion. The version of “I Will” included here is little more than a crime. The overproduced, reverb-muddied vocals lack the stark pathos of the stellar album version, and the addition of an utterly unspectacular drum-track is yet one more step away from the original’s minimalist perfection, a minimalism present in the aforementioned “Fog (Again),” and to a lesser extent, “Gagging Order.”

It’s not as though the EP is completely worthless in and of itself. To be honest, it’s nice not to have to wander out and buy the multitude of singles for their accompanying B-sides. Or, more precisely, it would be nice if it didn’t involve shelling out enough to purchase 3 decent albums, and getting a mostly listenable half-album that just makes me want to listen to Hail To The Thief instead. Radiohead has among the best back-catalogues and B-sides I’ve come across: hell, the Airbag / How Am I Driving? and My Iron Lung EPs are better than most full albums. Listen to them instead; you’re not missing that much, and damned if I’m ever going to get sick of hearing the guitars roaring in on “Polyethylene” and counting to nine.


****

Music: Stupid, perfect Sea Change. Jesus.


:: Aziz 8:53 PM [+] ::
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