Radiohead - The Bends [Black Vinyl LP]

Radiohead's sophomore album The Bends stands as a defining moment in 1990s rock, silencing critics who dismissed the band as one-hit wonders after "Creep." Produced by John Leckie, with extra production by Radiohead, Nigel Godrich and Jim Warren, the album was recorded at RAK Studios, Abbey Road in London and the Manor in Oxfordshire. This black vinyl pressing captures the 12-track album that showcased the Oxford quintet's dramatic maturation, combining introspective songwriting with a more refined three-guitar attack. The Bends was the first Radiohead album recorded with Godrich and the artist Stanley Donwood, who have worked on every Radiohead album since.

The album produced five singles: "My Iron Lung," the double A-side "High and Dry/Planet Telex," "Fake Plastic Trees," "Just," and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)," with "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" reaching number five on the UK singles chart in January 1996, surpassing "Creep" and demonstrating that Radiohead were not one-hit wonders. Thom Yorke's vulnerable vocals soar over layered guitars on tracks like "Fake Plastic Trees" and the haunting album closer "Street Spirit (Fade Out)," while songs like "Just" and "My Iron Lung" deliver anthemic power. The album balances melancholic beauty with explosive crescendos, exploring themes of human fallibility and existential anxiety that resonated deeply with mid-90s audiences.

The black vinyl pressing delivers the album's dynamic range across two sides, capturing both the delicate acoustic moments and the full force of the band's three-guitar arrangements. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best Alternative Music Album and received widespread critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone including it at number 276 in its 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The pressing maintains the warmth and clarity that made The Bends the last Radiohead album where songwriting took precedence over production experimentation, before the band embarked on the more abstract journey of OK Computer.

• Format: Black Vinyl LP
• Standout tracks: "Street Spirit (Fade Out)," "Fake Plastic Trees," "Just"
• Pressing details: Standard weight vinyl, single jacket
• Genre/style: Alternative Rock, Britpop, Art Rock, Indie Rock
• UPC: 634904078010

This album represents Radiohead at a creative crossroads, balancing accessibility with artistic ambition in a way that influenced countless alternative rock bands.

* The Spotify track list may not exactly represent the tracks and audio of this LP edition.

Track List:

Side A:

1. Planet Telex
2. The Bends
3. High And Dry
4. Fake Plastic Trees
5. Bones
6. (Nice Dream)

Side B:

1. Just
2. My Iron Lung
3. Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was
4. Black Star
5. Sulk
6. Street Spirit (Fade Out)