An intense buzz of excitement among the band's still-growing following greeted the pre-release appearance of most of the album's tracks on the Internet in MP3 form they displayed an all-out fascination with challenging, often minimalist electronica. Expectations for Radiohead's fourth album were stratospheric, which placed additional pressure on the already perfectionist band, and led to several stumbling blocks along the way. Since it skillfully teetered between rock classicism and futurism, it earned near-unanimous critical and popular support over the course of the year, which turned into unrestrained adoration in the final two years of the decade, even though its sales still hadn't climbed above gold status. A devoted following of fans and a handful of enthusiastic critical supporters immediately embraced the album's majestic blend of unfettered prog rock, post-punk angst, eerie electronic textures, and assured songwriting. By the end of the year, The Bends began to catch on, thanks not only to the band's constant touring but also to the stark, startling video for "Just." The album made many year-end best-of lists in the U.K., and early in 1996, the record reentered the British Top Ten and climbed to gold status in the U.S., helped in the latter by the video for "Fake Plastic Trees." During the first half of 1996, Radiohead continued to tour before re-entering the studio that fall to record their third album, OK Computer, which was released in the summer of 1997. The band continued to tour as the opening act on R.E.M.'s prestigious Monster tour. However, positive reviews didn't sell albums, as Radiohead struggled to be heard during the U.K.'s summer of Brit-pop and as American radio programmers and MTV ignored the record. Upon its spring 1995 release, The Bends was greeted with overwhelmingly enthusiastic reviews, all of which praised the group's deeper, more mature sound.
Conscious of such thinking, the group entered the studio with producer John Leckie to record its second album, The Bends. Although "Creep" made Radiohead a success, it also led many observers to peg the band as a one-hit wonder.
This time, the single became a Top Ten hit, and the band spent the following summer touring the world. All the exposure helped Pablo Honey go gold, and "Creep" was re-released in the U.K. extensively, opening for Belly and Tears for Fears. On the back of the single's success, Radiohead toured the U.S. As the band launched a European supporting tour, "Creep" became a sudden smash hit in America, earning heavy airplay on modern rock radio and MTV. Pablo Honey, Radiohead's album, was released to mixed reviews in the spring of 1993. "Creep" was a moderate hit, and their next two singles, "Anyone Can Play Guitar" and "Pop Is Dead," gained a small following, even as the British music press ignored the group. and Nirvana highlighted by a noisy burst of feedback prior to the chorus. Shortly afterward, the group signed to EMI/Capitol and released the single "Creep," a fusion of R.E.M. Initially called "On a Friday," the band began pursuing a musical career in earnest in the early '90s, releasing the Drill EP in 1992. Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar), Ed O'Brien (guitar, vocals), Jonny Greenwood (guitar), Colin Greenwood (bass), and Phil Selway (drums) formed Radiohead as students in 1988 while living in Oxford. Having demonstrated unexpected staying power, as well as increasing ambition, Radiohead next released OK Computer, a progressive, electronic-tinged masterpiece that became one of the most acclaimed albums of the '90s. Many observers pigeonholed Radiohead as a one-hit wonder, but the group's second album, The Bends, was released to terrific reviews in the band's native Britain in early 1995, helping build a more stable fan base. Their 1993 debut, Pablo Honey, only suggested their potential, and one of its songs, "Creep," became an unexpected international hit, its angst-ridden lyrics making it an alternative rock anthem. It took Radiohead a while to formulate their signature sound. Vocalist Thom Yorke's pained lyrics were brought to life by the group's three-guitar attack, which relied on texture - borrowing as much from My Bloody Valentine and Pink Floyd as R.E.M. But the band internalized that epic sweep, turning it inside out to tell tortured, twisted tales of angst and alienation. Radiohead were one of the few alternative bands of the early '90s to draw heavily from the grandiose arena rock that characterized U2's early albums. But the band internalized that epic sweep, turning it inside out to tell
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