The Bends is the second studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, originally released on 13 March 1995 by Parlophone. It was produced by John Leckie, and engineered by Nigel Godrich, who has produced all of Radiohead's subsequent studio albums. It was the first Radiohead album with cover art by Stanley Donwood, who, with singer Thom Yorke, has produced all of Radiohead's artwork since.

With Radiohead's debut single "Creep" becoming a hit, tensions were high, as the band felt pressured to exceed expectations with their follow-up to their debut album Pablo Honey (1993). As experimental rock music was on the rise, Radiohead moved away from the grunge-influenced style of their debut album Pablo Honey, incorporating cryptic lyrics, greater use of keyboards, and more abrasive guitar tracks. According to the band, the album marked the beginning of a gradual transition in Yorke's songwriting from personal angst to the more cryptic lyrics and social and global themes that would come to feature in their later albums.

The album produced six charting singles: "My Iron Lung" (released as an EP in 1994), the double A-side "Planet Telex / High and Dry", "Fake Plastic Trees", "Just", Radiohead's first top-five UK single "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", and "The Bends". The Bends reached number four on the UK Albums Chart and has since been certified 4× platinum by the BPI, however, it failed to build on the success of "Creep" outside the United Kingdom. The album peaked on the United States pop chart at only number 88, though has since received a platinum certification in the country.

The Bends received greater acclaim than Pablo Honey, elevating the band from an "indie one-hit-wonder" into one of the most recognised British rock bands, and being nominated for Best British Album at the 1996 Brit Awards. It is credited for influencing a generation of post-Britpop acts, and is frequently regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time; it was voted number 2 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd Edition (2000) and ranked number 110 on Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums of all time.