After the commercial and critical success of OK Computer, Radiohead could have made OK Computer Part 2. Instead, they made this.
Kid A confused and alienated many fans on release. The guitars were buried under electronics. Thom Yorke’s voice was processed beyond recognition. Song structures dissolved into ambient textures.
Two decades later, it sounds prophetic. The anxiety it captured—about technology, disconnection, information overload—only became more relevant.
“Everything In Its Right Place” remains one of the most unsettling album openers ever recorded. “How to Disappear Completely” is devastating. The title track sounds like a lullaby from the uncanny valley.
This album changed what rock music could be. See also In Rainbows, where they found warmth within their experimental approach.