Album review – Radiohead – The King of Limbs

Radiohead is one of those bands that can do no wrong.  When they release a new album, they will have their knobs slobbed by the media regardless of what it sounds like.  Thom Yorke could be pissing onto a microphone and it would be dubbed “brilliant” and “experimental.”  Radiohead fans are so pretentious that they will turn any discussion about music into a lecture about how they are changing the face of music with their “soundscapes.”  No one likes those conversations.  However, those rabid fans usually have a point.  With the exception of their first album, every album as been a leap forward in terms of experimentation and conceptualization.  They have had such an impact that it’s almost a given when an artist says he is influenced by Radiohead.

That being said, even if you have lived under a rock for the past 20 years, there are very high expectations for Radiohead’s newest release, The King of Limbs.  For the sake of comparison, this album as a followup to In Rainbows is what Kid A was to OK Computer.  Whereas In Rainbows and OK Computer are very much guitar and melody driven albums, The King of Limbs and Kid A are quite the opposite.  Sure, there are guitars and melodies to be found, but they are not the foundation of songs, they are more supplemental ingredients than anything else.  There are chopped up, oftentimes unnatural rhythms, picking up or dropping out before you can even bob your head to the beat. It is almost impossible to predict what is coming next at any given point in a song, with the band changing course almost explicitly where you would expect them not to.

The opening track, “Bloom,” begins with a looping piano line drowning in reverb, and the drum beat is about as abnormal as one can get.  This assortment of seemingly incongruous music never fully takes form, and leaves you wondering “what the hell just happened?”  This tends to be a pattern throughout the album, with few songs actually feeling like…well, songs.  “Morning Mr. Magpie” has lyrics which recall Amnesiac era Yorke, agitated as ever, with a siren noise in the background that adds nicely to the urgency of the tune. The rhythm often seems intended to mess with the listener’s head, as on the track ”Little By Little”.  “Lotus Flower” is the album’s single, and it is the obvious choice.  Somewhat coherent with an actual, recognizable chorus (woo-hoo!), Yorke’s falsetto is beautiful yet haunting at the same time, and the rhythm section drives this one home with a solid, punchy beat.  “Codex” recalls “Pyramid Song,” “Feral” follows in the “wtf?” footsteps of much of the album, and “Give Up The Ghost” features a gorgeous acoustic guitar and quite complimentary arpeggios.  “Separator” is the final track, sounding like an unshapely blob at first, structuring itself as the song progresses.

As with most Radiohead albums, this is not one meant to be fit for the airwaves, or the masses.  It is very much avant-garde in a sense, and following suit with their track record (pun intended), it becomes less surprising and more intriguing.  The title The King Of Limbs refers to a tree in Wiltshire, England, and many of the (wait for it) soundscapes and lyricism seem to spur thoughts of nature and being one with an environment (“I’m a fish now, underwater).  It is up to the listener to either put the time into listening, or declare it a waste of time.  At the very least, give it a shot.

Tuna’s Editorial note: This is walrus circa 9 years ago.  Just so you know who’s reviewing the album.