It's now three years since Radiohead dropped Kid A into an unsuspecting (and somewhat uncomprehending) world. I recall it being one of those albums that deeply divided people—after achieving the grand '90s rock heights of OK Computer, what on Earth were they doing dabbling in this electronic shit?—and I pretty much came down on the negative side. I first heard it played in its entirety on the radio the day before its release, and at the end of it the words "what the fuck was that?" were the first that came to mind. "Paranoid Android" had been a bit of a headfuck too, of course, three years earlier, but it was still recognisably a rock song. This was not recognisable as much.

I still bought the album, thinking repeated listens would reveal its secrets... and, well, three years later I still don't get it. Amnesiac followed, culled from the same sessions that had produced the other album. I got into it somewhat more easily than Kid A, partly because the shock had worn off and I knew what to expect by this time, partly because the material itself seemed stronger. Still, it wasn't as much fun as it had been in the old days.

Radiohead's new album Hail To The Thief is now upon us. Unmastered mixes of songs are already circulating on the Internet, which leads me to think the album's June release date will now be brought forward quite significantly (if I were any more cynical than I am I'd accuse the band or the record label of allowing the files to circulate as a way of drumming up interest in the album). Having heard the whole lot now, it must be said that I am pretty damn impressed. After the Kid A / Amnesiac business I wasn't hoping for much, but the band have delivered better than I'd expected.

The 14-track album is probably best viewed as a refinement of what the band were doing on the last couple of albums, or, if those albums were the sound of the band experimenting with technology, this is the results of that experimentation. There are still electronics here but they're somewhat better integrated with songs; and while the album still has a certain angular quality to it and could not really be mistaken for a mainstream pop record, it's somewhat more accessible than its immediate predecessors. Happiest of all, Thom Yorke seems to be making an effort with his vocal work again; witness the amazing three-register overdubbed harmonies on "I Will" as proof of that.

There's a bit of a sag in the middle of the album, but on the whole Hail To The Thief is a noticeably more inspiring record than Kid A or Amnesiac. Standout tracks for me (if you want to sample the album prior to release but don't have time to download the whole thing):

* Sit Down Stand Up
* Sail To The Moon
* Where I End And You Begin
* There There
* I Will
* Scatterbrain

So crank up your file-sharing program of choice (or do what I did, i.e. find a friend with all the files on an FTP server and leech from them) and get downloading. Needless to say, if you like it enough, do invest in the album when it comes out. Apart from anything else, the currently circulating files are apparently not yet properly mastered, so it'll be interesting to hear what else they do to buff them up for formal release. A fairly enthusiastic thumbs up from me.