Kevin McKeough of the Chicago Tribune said that "The Bends" and "Black Star" "could have been catchy little rockers" if Radiohead had dispensed with their "grandiose dramatic effects". The Boston Globe's Jim Sullivan wrote that the song is "full of stops, starts and slides, and Yorke established his voice as one in the English glam tradition of Ian Hunter and David Bowie, keeping company today with Oasis and Suede."
Kevin McKeough and Jim Sullivan both commented on Radiohead's music, specifically the songs "The Bends" and "Black Star", suggesting that they could have been more commercially successful if their sound had been less dramatic. They also noted similarities between Yorke's vocal style and other glam rock artists like Ian Hunter and David Bowie, as well as contemporary bands like Oasis and Suede.