Knowing as little of Radiohead as I do, I feel safe in recognizing this one thing about the British alt-act: Radiohead isn’t content.

Its sound seems to be ever changing and more importantly ever refining.

I can trace my first listen of the band, as most do I imagine, to their debut single “Creep,” released in 1992.

The song was a slow turn, featuring a slower, emotional sound until it was interrupted by the slashing guitars just before the chorus of, “I’m a creep.”

Since then Radiohead has walked through on its own, working and experimenting. That experimenting ultimately took Radiohead through an electronic stage that combined elements of jazz and some 20th century classical music influences.

Radiohead returned a little to form with “Hail to the Thief (The Gloaming),” punctuating their songs with guitars that hearken back a bit to “Creep.” It’s an album that’s neither here nor there, but everywhere. It leaves music-listeners like me, who maybe don’t have the wide-ranging music tastes of Radiohead fans, a bit lost, but intrigued at the same time.

 Dig it

It’s not so much the album itself, as it is the group. There are plenty of albums that switch sounds so radically from song to song, but few can do it as effortless as Radiohead does. Radiohead will offer up electronics in one song and then switch it over to an easy mix of guitars, piano and Yorke’s vocals.

A good example is the transition from “Sit Down, Stand Up (Snakes & Ladders)” to “Sail To The Mood (Brush the Cobwebs of the Sky).” The first ends with a frantic repeating of the lyrics “The raindrops,” and then gives into the latter which has almost a late-night jazz club feel.

Didn’t Dig It

Whatever a true fan will think of Radiohead, their use of electronics and synthesizers just doesn’t mix. It sounds like they are forcing something that just isn’t there. It works in moderation, but when they rely on it almost solely, it’s pushed and sometimes grating.

 Standout song

“Sit Down, Stand Up (Snakes & Ladders)” is a marvelously rich song that by the time it gets to an end sounds like it could be in a Guy Richie movie.

It starts out subtle like it’s going to stay in the realm of an easier song, but as it gets going, the band seems to hint at what is to come, almost like they are struggling to contain what is to come.

 Final verdict

Radiohead has always been interesting and while I don’t count myself as a fan, I usually don’t change the radio channel if they come across.

Even if you’re not a fan, you’re going to at least give them the smallest of a listen, because ultimately there is a chance of missing something.

I’m not going to count myself as a converted fan quite yet, but perhaps I pay just a little more attention to what I’m listening to.