>>40248835
This comparison doesn't seem apt. I don't know that I'd call radiohead a pop band anymore. Plus, they've had a handful of moments where they actively challenged/fucked with their audience. It's easy to look back at Kid A and think they're geniuses but at the time it was a hard album to take. It divided radiohead's fans down the middle. I think Hail to the Thief was actually an attempted peace offering to the fans they lost with Kid A/Amnesiac.
Arcade Fire on the hand did a good debut album. Then they did a mediocre/good moments 2nd album. Then it was on to a more cohesive and coherent 3rd album that was also "good."