The 2011 Radiohead song Thom Yorke struggles to sing: “A real bastard”
The strengths of any great singer tend to fly under the radar for most rock fans. For all of the great vocal runs someone can go on, it’s hard to take it seriously when a few frontmen can easily outpace their technical counterparts by just being an engaging presence and getting the crowd hyped up whenever they play.
Thom Yorke was never into those kinds of frontman antics, but even with a decade of classics in his arsenal, he singled out the song ‘Bloom’ as one of his finest moments behind the microphone.
For a singer often praised more for emotional delivery than technical precision, the choice is revealing. Yorke has never been interested in showcasing his voice for its own sake, preferring performances that serve the atmosphere and intent of the song.
Then again, talking about Yorke’s performances in Radiohead comes with a bit of a caveat. Sure, their sound was a breath of fresh air when they debuted on Pablo Honey, and after the grunge wave faded, hearing them go towards stadium rock on The Bends was still amazing, but Yorke’s voice was sometimes far too whiny for people to take seriously.
Yet that distinctive quality also became one of Radiohead’s greatest strengths. His fragile, anxious vocal style perfectly complemented the band’s increasingly complex and emotionally charged music, helping to establish a sound that was instantly recognisable.
From day one, Yorke had always come under fire for making depressing music, either at his own expense or telling stories about how tragic the world can be. Yes, he does have a point when talking about the harsher side of life on albums like OK Computer, but if you listen to a track like ‘Climbing Up the Walls’, he still manages to sound like he’s reaching further into his soul to squeeze out that one extra bit of emotion.
But those vocal acrobatics weren’t the main focus of The King of Limbs. Known as one of the also-rans in the group’s catalogue, much of the album focused on glitchy beats and basing songs around loops rather than fleshing them out like they did on In Rainbows. Although ‘Lotusflower’ is known more these days for Yorke’s often-meme’d dance moves, ‘Bloom’ is a better indication of what the project was going for.
As the rest of the song unfolds, Yorke seems to be caught in the mix half the time, almost like his voice is bouncing off every other instrument in the mix. It’s not the ideal way to listen to Radiohead, but Yorke knew that this was exactly how he wanted his voice to sound when working on the project.
When speaking to Rolling Stone, Yorke said that he thought he reached a different level with his voice on that song, saying, “I really like ‘Bloom’. On the surface, that’s quite simple, but actually is a real bastard, which is what’s nice about it. You kind of have to sing it in this way that’s reeeeeally open. But when you do it live, it’s much harder because there’s a lot of technical shit going on, and you have to totally forget about the chaos and come in with this really open voice.”
Looking at the mechanics of what he’s doing, though, it almost feels like Yorke needs superhuman lung capacity to reach the heights on this song. Since he’s also playing guitar whenever the group plays it live, having to sustain a note for that long while also keeping track of the tempos is the musical equivalent of trying to ride a unicycle and juggle two flaming batons at the same time.
Then again, would it really be a Radiohead song if there wasn’t a little bit of a challenge? The core ethos of the group was about making something that no one had covered, and if that meant having to take on something difficult, it’s better to just throw caution to the wind and see what happens.
That adventurous mindset has defined Radiohead’s career from the beginning. Rather than repeating past successes, the band have consistently embraced uncertainty, allowing songs like ‘Bloom’ to emerge from a creative process built on experimentation and risk.
