Radiohead - The Bends

In the general understanding of Radiohead, The Bends is the beginning of a string of albums that are both solid and boundary-pushing (OK Computer, Kid A/Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief).

This is the album I admittedly don't listen to often because it doesn't grab me like the others do. Yet I admit that you can tell that Radiohead is about writing good solid songs with a good range of tonic colours (i.e. chord changes), impressionistic lyrics and interesting arrangements and this album makes the point without scaring people into the abstract realm.

Others have used this album as a reference point to a side of radiohead that most people like: a guitar group. The tirade goes on to lament that there wasn't a "The Bends 2" and that Radiohead veered too deeply into thematic concepts (OK Computer) and electronic experimentation (Kid A). As for me, I'm glad there's only one The Bends instead of that plus three sub-par attempts at doing the same thing before doing something else like OK Computer. The Bends represents the zenith of Radiohead as a traditional and conventional rock group. The only way to go is out.