''Com Lag (2plus2isfive)'' is an EP by the English rock band

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

, released on 24 March 2004. It compiles

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

s from Radiohead's sixth album, ''

Hail to the Thief ''Hail to the Thief'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released on 9 June 2003 through Parlophone internationally, and through Capitol Records in the United States on 10 June. It was the last album released ...

'' (2003), along with

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

es by Cristian Vogel and

Four Tet Kieran Miles David Hebden (born September 1977), known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting and critically acc ...

and two live performances.

Music

"Paperbag Writer", whose title references the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

song "

Paperback Writer "Paperback Writer" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, the song was released as the A-side of their eleventh single in May 1966. It topped sing ...

", features "sinister fractured funk". "I Am a Wicked Child" is a "tainted, eerie missive" with harmonica. "Where Bluebirds Fly" is a "rattling, fidgety" electronic piece Radiohead used as the introduction music for their ''Hail to the Thief'' tour. "I Will (Los Angeles Version)" is an alternative version of "I Will" from ''Hail to the Thief,'' and "Fog (Again)" is a live performance of the '' Amnesiac'' B-side "Fog", rearranged for piano. The EP also includes remixes by Christian Vogel and

and a live version of "

2 + 2 = 5 2 + 2 = 5 or two plus two equals five is a mathematical falsehood which is used as an example of a simple logical error that is obvious to anyone familiar with basic arithmetic. The phrase has been used in various contexts since 1728, and ...

Cover art

The cover art is by

Stanley Donwood Dan Rickwood (born 29 October 1968), known professionally as Stanley Donwood, is an English artist and writer. Since 1994, he has created all the artwork for the rock band Radiohead with their singer, Thom Yorke, plus many of Yorke's other proj ...

, who has designed all artwork for Radiohead since 1994. Donwood said he imagined a range of

Delftware Delftware or Delft pottery, also known as Delft Blue () or as delf, is a general term now used for Dutch tin-glazed earthenware, a form of faience. Most of it is blue and white pottery, and the city of Delft in the Netherlands was the major cen ...

that featured "a modified bear, and a despot sperm monster" and was "loosely inspired by the work of

Tadeusz Kantor Tadeusz Kantor (6 April 1915 – 8 December 1990) was a Polish painter, assemblage and Happenings artist, set designer and theatre director. Kantor is renowned for his revolutionary theatrical performances in Poland and abroad. Laureate of ...

." A

jigsaw puzzle A jigsaw puzzle (with context, sometimes just jigsaw or just puzzle) is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped interlocking and mosaicked pieces. Typically each piece has a portion of a picture, which is comple ...

based on the cover was released in 2020.

Release

''Com Lag'' was released in Japan and Australia on 24 March 2004, in Canada on 13 April 2004, the United Kingdom on 16 April 2007, and in the United States on 8 May 2007. Early Japanese pressings were printed with a fault that produced static in some tracks.

Critical reception

Reviewing ''Com Lag'' for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', Anthony Thornton wrote: "Never content with relaxing into an accepted way of doing things, this record, while being flawed – it is a B-sides compilation after all – confirms Radiohead as the true inheritors of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' legacy rather than

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment The ''

Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...

'' critic Jeff Elbel described the ''Com Lag'' as "an appealing but inessential curio".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Andy Kellman wrote: "Naturally, the release isn't nearly as cohesive as ''Hail to the Thief''; its apparent intent is to supply the fans with another stream of the band's recordings, regardless of both how they fit together and how mixed the tracks are to begin with." Chris Ott of ''Pitchfork'' wrote: "You'd expect more from ideas that Radiohead fleshed out as a unit, but the stolen-time experiments and solo performances on this EP's tail end far outshine its exhausting first half." In 2020, the ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

'' named the "thrilling" live version of "2 + 2 = 5" the 31st-greatest Radiohead song.

Track listing

Personnel

* Radiohead – production *

Nigel Godrich Nigel Timothy Godrich (born 28 February 1971) is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He has worked with acts including Radiohead, Travis, Beck, Air, Paul McCartney, U2, R.E.M., Pavement, Roger Waters, Arcade Fire and ...

– production, engineering * Graeme Stewart – engineering * Darrell Thorp – engineering *

– design * Cristian Vogel – remixing *

– remixing

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2004 EPs Radiohead EPs Albums produced by Nigel Godrich Capitol Records EPs EMI Records EPs