Thirty-one years after it helped transform Radiohead from the band behind "Creep" into one of alternative rock's defining acts, The Bends is receiving fresh recognition.
Barnes & Noble has selected the landmark 1995 album as its Album of the Month for August, highlighting the record that many critics credit with changing the trajectory of both the band and modern alternative rock. The retailer is also offering discounts on both the vinyl LP and CD editions throughout the month.
When The Bends arrived in March 1995, expectations were enormous. Radiohead had scored a surprise worldwide hit with "Creep," and their label hoped the band would simply deliver another radio-friendly anthem. Instead, Thom Yorke and company pushed in a more ambitious direction, creating an album filled with textured guitars, emotionally complex songwriting and atmospheric production.
In an editorial review, music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine called The Bends the album where Radiohead "reinvented anthemic rock," praising its blend of sweeping instrumentation, haunting melodies and deeply personal songwriting. The review concludes that the record "reveals new details with each listen," helping explain why it remains one of the most celebrated albums of the decade.
Rolling Stone also said that the album "shocked the world" and called it "a musically dense and emotionally complex masterwork that erased their one-hit-wonder status forever."
The road to that acclaim was anything but smooth.
Recording sessions were marked by intense pressure, creative frustration and self-doubt as the band struggled to follow up the success of "Creep." At one point, bassist Colin Greenwood described the early sessions as "eight weeks of hell and torture," while producer John Leckie later recalled everyone trying too hard to create an instant hit.
Drummer Philip Selway reflected on that period in a 2015 interview with Stereogum, explaining that after the whirlwind success of debut album Pablo Honey, recording The Bends allowed the group to reconnect with themselves creatively.
"When we started to record The Bends, that felt like clear time again," Selway said. "We were riffing and writing around Oxford, so we were back at home and actually felt like a very recognizable process. It's something we've done for years, getting together and shutting ourselves away in a rehearsal room and writing and arranging material ... we were reconnecting with ourselves after having been in very, very unfamiliar territory."
While The Bends eventually reached No. 4 in the U.K., its success in the United States came gradually through word of mouth, extensive touring and memorable videos for songs like "Fake Plastic Trees," "Just" and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)." It ultimately earned platinum certification in the U.S. and quadruple-platinum status in the U.K., cementing its place among the defining rock albums of the 1990s.
Looking back on the album's reception, Selway said its reputation wasn't built overnight.
"It took time to build," he said. "The videos for 'Just' and 'Fake Plastic Trees' and 'Street Spirit,' those really established the record … it really did build a head of steam over the course of 1995. It wasn't like all guns blazing from the outset."
More than three decades later, The Bends continues to be celebrated as the album that elevated Radiohead beyond one-hit-wonder status, making its latest recognition a fitting tribute to one of alternative rock's enduring masterpieces.
Related: '80s Icons Mourn the 'Most Important Person' in Band's History, Dead at 85
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