Radiohead is a musical anomaly. Although each of its three previous albums has taken an intentional step further away from the mainstream, each has done better in the charts than its predecessor.

In October of last year, the band released Kid A. One of the least commercial mainstream releases of the past 30 years, the album was a musical middle finger to Top 40 radio and MTV's Total Request Live. Not only was the material like nothing the band had done before, no major tour was planned and no singles or videos were released. (I'm sure Carson Daly was so upset).

To the surprise of many, the album went straight to No. 1.

Less than a year later, Radiohead returns with Amnesiac. Although the album, which will be released in the States on June 5, consists largely of songs recorded during the Kid A sessions, it is hardly an album of leftovers.

Although it does mark a bit of a return to the Radiohead sound of old, with much more drums and guitars than its predecessor, Amnesiac spends a good deal of its 44 minutes tackling more experimental ideas, including "Like Spinning Plates," a song played almost entirely in reverse.

And, like Radiohead's other releases, Amnesiac needs to be absorbed and listened to repeatedly to fully appreciate the material. Don't expect to fall in love with the album at first listen, but don't give up on it without giving it a chance. This is another very strong and interesting release from the band.

"Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" begins the album with a skeletal electronic beat topped with haunting keyboards and Thom Yorke's trademark high-pitched whine. A bit upbeat, a bit uncomforting, it yanks listeners from reality and prepares them for the rest of the experience. Plus, it's a damn good song.

"I Might Be Wrong," the album's first single, is one of the catchiest things the band has written recently, relatively speaking. While the chances of it invading the Top 40 are about the same as the chances of Britney Spears listing OK Computer as one of her most influential albums, expect the slightly funky song to receive significant airplay on rock radio stations.

"Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" replaces "Kid A" as Radiohead's most experimental (read: weirdest) song to date. The song is propelled by an insistent, pulsating beat that is certain to blow a few speakers. On top of the rumbling, Yorke's electronically treated voice gives intermittent, mostly indecipherable descriptions of different types of doors.

Strange, yes. But it sounds incredible.

But perhaps the biggest surprise of the album is the final track, "Life in a Glass House." Backed with a clarinet, a trombone and other assorted brass and reeds, the band makes its first foray into slightly dissonant jazz territory with incredible results, sounding like a cross between Benny Goodman and Thelonious Monk.

Its placement as the last song was wise. Not only are the final runs by the clarinet and trombone ideal for ending the album, the song acts as a telling segue to the rest of the band's career — Radiohead won't stand still and will continue to stretch the boundaries of what "rock" music can be.