Radiohead - Pyramid Song EPs
(Parlophone)
Though Radiohead's Amnesiac is unlikely to produce a
slew of singles, they have released
singles for "Pyramid Song" in a number of different
countries. The track listing varies a
bit depending upon where the singles originated from,
but between them all, there are four
B-sides to be had in connection with this single. All
four are available on a very pricey
Japanese import of the single, or you can buy discs
one and two of the British version to
get all of the songs.
"Pyramid Song" is among the better songs Amnesiac has to
offer. Its airy feel and odd timing
give it a quickly recognizable Radiohead feel, though
it has little in common with Radiohead's
usual instrumentation.
The B-sides are less than thrilling, which is very
disappointing, because Radiohead's B-sides
are often as good as the songs they kept on the
albums. But then again, what do you expect from
the B-sides of an album made up of B-sides (is
Amnesiac really anything but the B-sides from Kid
A)?
"The Amazing Sounds of Orgy" is a spooky song built
around a low end pulsing, which is very
much an unassuming song, that could work better if it
were matched with good songs. "Trans
Atlantic Drawl" is a frenzied dance-rock song, which
falls apart and becomes thickly layered
keyboards that sound a little too reminiscent of a
church choir. "Kinetic" is probably the
better of the B-sides, with its heavy repetition and
creepy undercurrent. None of the new
songs have any strength to speak of, except in their
function as forgettable filler.
Then again, listening to this single has made me love
"Pyramid Song" even more because it
stands out so much from the rest of the tracks. So,
as a promotional tool for Radiohead's
latest single, this release is a complete success. As
an actual release, that actual fans
will hear (and some may even be stupid enough to pay
as much as $25 to get all the extra
tracks) this fails.
|
