Radiohead's 1995 album, *The Bends*, is a pivotal work in 1990s alternative rock, marking a significant artistic evolution for the band and leaving a lasting cultural impact. It was their second studio album, following the unexpected global success of their debut, *Pablo Honey*, and its hit single, "Creep."
**The Artist: Radiohead**
Radiohead, formed in Oxfordshire, England, in 1985, consists of Thom Yorke, Jonny and Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, and Philip Selway. After the success of "Creep," the band found themselves pigeonholed as a one-hit-wonder and were determined to move beyond the grunge-lite sound of their first album. This desire to evolve and experiment became a defining characteristic of their career.
**The Album: *The Bends***
*The Bends* was a conscious departure from *Pablo Honey*. The band, working with producer John Leckie and future longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich, crafted a more layered, atmospheric, and sonically ambitious album. It features a dynamic range, from the acoustic fragility of "Fake Plastic Trees" and "High and Dry" to the powerful, guitar-driven anthems of the title track and "Just."
The album's tracklist is as follows:
1. "Planet Telex"
2. "The Bends"
3. "High and Dry"
4. "Fake Plastic Trees"
5. "Bones"
6. "(Nice Dream)"
7. "Just"
8. "My Iron Lung"
9. "Bullet Proof..I Wish I Was"
10. "Black Star"
11. "Sulk"
12. "Street Spirit (Fade Out)"
**Cultural Relevance at the Time**
In the mid-1990s, the British music scene was dominated by the swagger and optimism of Britpop, with bands like Oasis and Blur at the forefront. Radiohead, with their introspective lyrics and themes of alienation and consumerism, stood in stark contrast. *The Bends* was not an immediate commercial behemoth like some of its Britpop contemporaries, but it was a critical success that garnered the band a dedicated following.
The album's influence grew steadily, and it's now considered a landmark of the era. It provided a blueprint for a more emotionally resonant and sonically adventurous style of rock music that would be adopted by a wave of successful bands in the late 90s and early 2000s, including Coldplay, Muse, and Travis.
*The Bends* is often seen as the bridge between Radiohead's early sound and their more experimental and critically lauded masterpiece, *OK Computer* (1997). It was on *The Bends* that Radiohead found their true voice, establishing themselves as one of the most innovative and important bands of their generation.