Hail to the Thief

Rock · 2003 · 14 tracks · 56m

Hail to the Thief

A sprawling, paranoid fusion of jagged alternative rock and glitchy electronics, capturing the tense, media-saturated anxieties of the early 2000s.

Chaotic sprawl

A twitchy, political static crackles through this sprawling hour of music, which pulls the band's live, guitar-driven energy back into the frame alongside cold electronic glitches. This tense synthesis balances aggressive, distorted rock outbursts with delicate piano-led lullabies, capturing a restless, early-2000s paranoia.

Hail to the Thief · vs · Radiohead

Political+4.0σ

Rather than retreating into abstract alienation, the songwriting pivots toward an explicitly political dread, capturing the specific, media-saturated paranoia of the early war-on-terror era.

Tracklist · 14 Tracks · 56m

01

2 + 2 = 5 (The Lukewarm.)

3:19

02

Sit Down. Stand Up. (Snakes & Ladders.)

4:20

03

Sail to the Moon. (Brush the Cobwebs Out of the Sky.)

4:18

04

Backdrifts. (Honeymoon Is Over.)

5:23

05

Go to Sleep. (Little Man Being Erased.)

3:22

06

Where I End and You Begin. (The Sky Is Falling In.)

4:29

07

We Suck Young Blood. (Your Time Is Up.)

4:57

08

The Gloaming. (Softly Open Our Mouths in the Cold.)

3:32

09

There There. (The Boney King of Nowhere.)

5:24

10

I Will. (No Man’s Land.)

2:00

11

A Punchup at a Wedding. (No No No No No No No No.)

4:57

12

Myxomatosis. (Judge, Jury & Executioner.)

3:53

13

Scatterbrain. (As Dead as Leaves.)

3:22

14

A Wolf at the Door. (It Girl. Rag Doll.)

3:21

Moments Worth Waiting For

012 + 2 = 5 (The Lukewarm.)The opening track '2 + 2 = 5 (The Lukewarm.)' shifts abruptly from a quiet, clicking drum machine into an explosive, full-band rock climax.

Sits BesideSee all

Airbag / How Am I Driving?

Airbag / How Am I Driving?

Shares anxious, art rock, noise_textured, indie rock (signature)

Low in High School

Low in High School

Shares political, art rock, indie rock, alternative rock (signature)

Graveyard Whistling EP

Graveyard Whistling EP

Nothing But Thieves

Shares anxious, art rock, indie rock, alternative rock (signature)

All Born Screaming

All Born Screaming

Shares thunderstorm, dynamic_range, anxious, art rock (atmosphere)

Blur

Shares anxious, art rock, noise_textured, fog (signature)

A Woman a Man Walked By

A Woman a Man Walked By

Shares dynamic_range, art rock, haunting, fog (production)

Cousin

Shares anxious, tense, art rock, noise_textured (signature)

Run

Shares anxious, thunderstorm, art rock, noise_textured (signature)

ACT III: BATTLE

ACT III: BATTLE

Young the Giant

Shares thunderstorm, art rock, indie rock, alternative rock (atmosphere)

Under the Iron Sea

Under the Iron Sea

Shares anxious, tense, thunderstorm, art rock (signature)

Reviews

Critic Consensus

Critics were widely enthusiastic, and the album drew broad acclaim.

Spectrum Culture4/ 5 stars

Rolling Stone4/ 5 stars

Pitchfork8.1/ 10

BBC Music

Cult Following4/ 5 stars

AllMusic4/ 5 stars

Metacritic83/ 100

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