Yes, “A Moon Shaped Pool” is my favorite Radiohead album. Despite my preference for chaotic ADHD-friendly music, this album is too good for me to not appreciate, even if it doesn’t lend particularly well to casual listening. Front to back, not many albums have made me ascend like this one.
Picture yourself in a lucid dream. The world around you looks familiar yet very blurry with fog running through the air. As you gain some vision your surroundings resemble a nostalgic outdoor location. Somewhere in your past that you cherish, you are entranced and at peace with your surroundings but can’t shake this sadness that you’ll never experience where you are at right now in this dream, in real life, ever again. Suddenly you start ascending into the sky. You hear some faint ambient music in the background as you ascend. For the rest of this dream, you slowly glide through the air, looking down as you pass through many familiar locations from your past through the nighttime fog. You can’t detect exactly what’s familiar about some of these locations. Some are like vague memories from the past. You can’t stop yourself from gliding and observing, nor do you want to. You continue observing these locations like you are looking out the window of an airplane.
That’s the experience of listening to this album
Take “Daydreaming,” my favorite song on this album. It has this entrancing and familiar/nostalgic, almost Minecraft-sounding piano build with some progressive electronic and orchestral elements to add to the atmosphere. The song‘s lyrics resemble a lack of control Thom Yorke feels regarding horrible things happening in the world so he escapes to a cave to watch it all from afar rather than continue fighting it. However, given the intricate and otherworldly instrumentation of this song, it feels like I have ascended to my own dimension as I am rendered in a state of tranquility with the world and its errors. Regardless of whether it chooses to listen to me cry out for it to change. Just like in my lucid dream, in this song I have ascended into the air, to observe and be at peace with my uncanny surroundings.
This brings me to my next point. This album’s downer lyrical content doesn’t sadden me because its tranquil and otherworldly instrumentation entrances me into a state where I’m at peace. Not one where I am crying my eyes out.
Even with the themes of escapism in this album like in “Glass Eyes” where Yorke is at his breaking point, looking at everyone waiting at his train station identifying them as cold empty beings with glass eyes. His alienation with the world and others runs deep as he wonders what the hell everyone has become. Finally, he makes his escape into a forest or a mountain somewhere as the beautiful piano instrumentation in the background swells. The song feels peaceful, as if Yorke has finally broken free. The ethereal piano based sonic elements add to this vibe. Yet another song that should be soul crushingly hard to listen to made into a peaceful and entrancing tune.
If you hadn’t realized at this point, the piano is a trademark sonic element in AMSP. Like the guitar is to Jimi Hendrix and trap beats are to Metro Boomin, the piano is to AMSP. Its creative and ethereal usage allows for the transcendental and nostalgic nature of AMSP.
It’s used primarily to enhance the atmosphere, not to lend towards catchy hooks. However, this is part of AMSP’s greatest superpower. Its ability to generate an atmosphere that is so enticing on its own that when a satisfying hook, vocal melody or god forbid a guitar solo comes in – it feels like bonus points, rather than a necessary make or break element determining if AMSP is a good album or not.
The atmospheric nature of AMSP is partially why it’s not best utilized as a casual listening album as you might miss some of the more intricate and beautiful details in the production or even get bored by some of the tracks. Try listening to “Glass Eyes” for the first time while you are lifting weights, it probably won’t click.
Finally, as said previously, this album gives me the feeling I’m floating in time, through the sky looking back at all my achievements and failures. Which is why the abrupt lack of resolution in “True Love Waits,” in terms of the abusive relationship Yorke is in makes sense as the closing moment to the album considering the many trials in life that lack a resolution, as depicted in this album. However, the otherworldly instrumentation in AMSP gives the feeling I’m simply distantly observing and accepting these problems from afar, making it a transcendental and therapeutic listen for me.
And some final notes on specific tracks:
While “Burn the Witch” works as a grand and maximalist opener to this album it’s not a track I’m crazy about on its own. This is partially because it lacks some of the more ambient and atmospheric qualities of my favorite moments on AMSP. Overall, it’s a fine baroque pop tune that I don’t skip when I’m listening to the entire album in full.
“Identikit” is a notable highlight on the record with its intricate minimalist rock build leading up into an entrancing post rock segment where Yorke repeats broken hearts make it rain over and over again. This repetition alongside the post rock instrumentation is a hypnotic combination. Finally this song reaches its climax at the end with a hard hitting atmospheric guitar solo with such a satisfying guitar tone.
Finay, shoutout to “Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief” for winning my most beautiful string arrangement I’ve ever heard in a song award.