Radiohead’s long-awaited new single is one of the purest folk-pop songs they’ve ever written
“Follow Me Around,” previously available only via tour documentary Meeting People Is Easy or live bootleg, was left off of Kid A and Amnesiac for a reason

Kid A Mnesia, the upcoming reissue of Radiohead’s landmark fourth and fifth albums (Kid A and Amnesiac, natch), also contains a third disc compiling unearthed material from those original recording sessions. And while first single “If You Say The Word” certainly gives the impression of having been put to tape during that transformative period for the art-rock band, the latest single, “Follow Me Around,” is something different: Namely, it’s one of the most straightforward pop songs ever written by Radiohead.
From its opening chords, it’s clear that this track was left off of Kid A and Amnesiac for a reason. Both of those records redefined the sound of Radiohead, in ways that steered sharply away from the guitar-based rock for which it was known. The biggest absence? Exactly the sort of strummy, immediate guitar hooks that had earned the band its early reputation—in other words, the very definition of “Follow Me Around,” which from the start defines itself in traditionalist opposition to the band’s then-evolving style.