8.1
Radiohead sure know how to get the music community in an uproar, except this time instead of pulling a "pay what you want" In Rainbows quota, they come out of nowhere with an announcement for their new LP The King of Limbs a week before its digital release. That whole week I fantasized how Limbs could be as monumental and brilliant as Kid A or as ground breaking as Ok Computer. My first listen of Limbs immediately erased these giddy excitements. Now I didn't give up just yet because like 99.9% of the people who listen to Kid A or Ok Computer for the first time didn't have the sound waves and texture sink in at first. Like the other LPs, I let this one sink in. Unfortunately only about half of it really sank in.
Starting out with the loopy "Bloom" it's immediate that Radiohead have once again approached another style to their musical abilities. This isn't surprising, accounting for that every single Radiohead album as different ranging from debut Pablo Honey to '07's In Rainbows. With the entrance of lead singer Thom Yorke's ghostly line, "Open your mouth wide." As if preparing us for the onslaught of Radiohead music to blow our minds. On first initial reactions of the sound, comparisons are easily made towards the dark, experimentation of Kid A and Amnesiac. The brewing impending doom that every songs seems to convey.
Speaking of impending doom, one songs nails that one on the head, "Codex". It has a "Pyramid Song" quality about it; with a jazzy piano line with soaring horns and cryptic lyricism from Yorke: "Jump off the end/The water's clear and innocent." Other impending lyrics come from the evaporating, acoustic "Give Up the Ghost" with lines like: "Gather up the pitiful/In your arms." Like most Radiohead albums, Limbs is dark and brooding with menace, but always hinting towards a light safety.
With the positives out of the way, now the negatives, which I hate to include in a Radiohead review. Tracks like "Feral" and "Little By Little" are weak, very weak. They sound like fillers to the whole album's theme. Yorke's vocals are some of the worst of any new effort I've heard, the way he sings, "Little by little", has an annoying quality to it. "Feral" is a loopy mess, that could develop into one of Radiohead's very prominent dance pieces like "Idioteque" or "Backdrifts", but instead it doesn't build from a fairy solid intro.
The highlight of Limbs is the beautiful "Lotus Flower", Yorke's vocals soar over a steady Phil Selway beat and Colin Greenwood bass line with other assorted noises. It's one of those Radiohead tunes where you think to yourself; Radiohead has created another powerful song that sounds like nothing else out there. Another highlight is the outro "Separator". It has probably the most accesible qualities with it; a pretty guitar line that pops in half way through the tune and through the band's power at making a monumental epic sound by uttering, "If you thinks this is over/Then you're wrong," possibly hinting towards a second part to Limbs (crosses fingers).
Starting out with the loopy "Bloom" it's immediate that Radiohead have once again approached another style to their musical abilities. This isn't surprising, accounting for that every single Radiohead album as different ranging from debut Pablo Honey to '07's In Rainbows. With the entrance of lead singer Thom Yorke's ghostly line, "Open your mouth wide." As if preparing us for the onslaught of Radiohead music to blow our minds. On first initial reactions of the sound, comparisons are easily made towards the dark, experimentation of Kid A and Amnesiac. The brewing impending doom that every songs seems to convey.
Speaking of impending doom, one songs nails that one on the head, "Codex". It has a "Pyramid Song" quality about it; with a jazzy piano line with soaring horns and cryptic lyricism from Yorke: "Jump off the end/The water's clear and innocent." Other impending lyrics come from the evaporating, acoustic "Give Up the Ghost" with lines like: "Gather up the pitiful/In your arms." Like most Radiohead albums, Limbs is dark and brooding with menace, but always hinting towards a light safety.
With the positives out of the way, now the negatives, which I hate to include in a Radiohead review. Tracks like "Feral" and "Little By Little" are weak, very weak. They sound like fillers to the whole album's theme. Yorke's vocals are some of the worst of any new effort I've heard, the way he sings, "Little by little", has an annoying quality to it. "Feral" is a loopy mess, that could develop into one of Radiohead's very prominent dance pieces like "Idioteque" or "Backdrifts", but instead it doesn't build from a fairy solid intro.
The highlight of Limbs is the beautiful "Lotus Flower", Yorke's vocals soar over a steady Phil Selway beat and Colin Greenwood bass line with other assorted noises. It's one of those Radiohead tunes where you think to yourself; Radiohead has created another powerful song that sounds like nothing else out there. Another highlight is the outro "Separator". It has probably the most accesible qualities with it; a pretty guitar line that pops in half way through the tune and through the band's power at making a monumental epic sound by uttering, "If you thinks this is over/Then you're wrong," possibly hinting towards a second part to Limbs (crosses fingers).
Limbs is probably the most "nonlinear" album that Radiohead has put out. The only song that really has any mainstream musical structure is "Lotus Flower" and even it has an odd feel to it. I can't just go out and say this is a step back from one of the world's most consistent band at the moment; in fact, I would say it's another artistic achievement that I just couldn't get into as much as maybe Kid A, In Rainbows, or Ok Computer. When I hear a pretentious Radiohead fan make the excuse to someone who doesn't like their music like "you just don't get it", that's such a stupid statement to make about a highly respectable band. It makes you look ignorant and like you actually like the music, you just like the band's image. Listen to Radiohead how it was meant to be listened to: simply listen and enjoy, or don't enjoy it, don't let Radiohead fan boys tell you any different.
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