It took me a while to really appreciate this song. I’ve never been the biggest fan of Amnesiac as a whole, but it does contain some of Radiohead’s best work. In the past I would always hear this song and maintain my focus on Thom Yorke’s vocal. For a long time it never impressed me. Seemed kind of aimless. It rises and falls and that was about it. Quite run of the mill for his voice.

Then, some time last year, I revisited the album. Instead of focusing on Yorke’s voice, I turned my attention to the band’s performance. The ‘Paranoid Android-esque’ lick that opens the track, the wispy hiss that comes from Phil Selway’s ride cymbal… Colin Greenwood’s bassline. All these little things suddenly became much more apparent. ‘Knives Out’ isn’t all about Thom Yorke’s voice, but how every other instrument interplays with it. When you take all of those elements into consideration, it makes Yorke’s melody so much more engaging.

The song is a very atmospheric one. Dark and pessimistic in tone. There’s a lot of cannibalistic imagery in there, though it’s also based on the ideas of looking into a dying person’s eyes and someone walking out on their family. Not the cheeriest of songs but one of those you need when you’re feeling quite low.