James Oldham of "NME" saw "Hail to the Thief" as "a good rather than great record... the impact of the best moments is dulled by the inclusion of some indifferent electronic compositions." "Q" writer John Harris felt that some of the material "comes dangerously close to being all experimentalism and precious little substance". Alexis Petridis of "The Guardian" wrote that while "you could never describe "Hail to the Thief" as a bad record", it was "neither startlingly different and fresh nor packed with the sort of anthemic songs that once made the world's biggest band". He felt the political lyrics and bleak mood put Radiohead in danger of self-parody. Robert Christgau of "The Village Voice" wrote that while its melodies and guitar work are "never as elegiac and lyrical" or "articulate and demented" as those of "OK Computer", he felt it "flows better" and later awarded it an "honourable mention".