RADIOHEAD - King of Limbs

Radiohead. What is there to say about Radiohead that hasn’t already been said? They are inarguably the most important band of the last twenty years. No one since the Beatles has so successfully injected experimentalism into the mainstream, and no one, including the Beatles, has had such a sustained unbroken run of excellent recordings. When you consider that their first great record “The Bends,” was released in 1995, and that every record they have released over the past fifteen years has been groundbreaking to some degree and more or less phenomenal, it is hard to find another example of a band in the history of popular music that has been as innovative and successful as Radiohead has. Let’s be honest, as great and important as the Beatles were, they only had a five-year run of truly great and important records. Radiohead has sustained their legacy for over fifteen years. Fifteen years of groundbreaking, brilliant albums.

So here we are in the midst of the release of the band’s eight album “King of Limbs,” I say midst because while the album is available digitally it won’t see a physical release until the end of March, but, of course, you already knew that. You also already know about the waves they created with the release of their last album “In Rainbows” by allowing people to name their own purchase price for a digital copy, proving that not only are the band innovators musically, but as marketers, and record distributors as well. I have no interest in weighing in one way or another on Radiohead’s approach to the manner in which they handle their releases these days, nor how it effects people’s expectations, and whether or not it devalues music and artists in general, as some have claimed. All I really care about is how the band has progressed musically from record to record, and where they are now in that progression.

And where they are now is a place of comfort. At this point in their career Radiohead really has nothing left to prove, they could simply make the same album over and over and no one would really mind, yet they continue to push the envelope and mine the musical landscape for inspiration in ways that would place most bands well outside of their comfort zone, but not Radiohead. These guys have been drawing inspiration from the most eclectic collection of musical sources for years now. Whether it be IDM, free jazz, doo wop, or krautrock, Radiohead are adept at blending outside influences seamlessly with their own distinct voice. They are more than comfortable assimilating whatever sounds are floating their boats at any given time and making it their own. They are also comfortable making an album that will have many scratching their heads and asking 'where is the single?' They have their audience, they sell-out their shows, and they are clearly not hungry for commercial success, but they remain musically restless to a degree. There is a sense following "In Rainbows" that they had reached a level of confidence and comfort to do whatever they please, and while they seem to be done making grand statements like "OK Computer" or pursuing radical shifts in style and approach like "Kid A," they are still exploring and recalibrating their sound every step of the way. "King of Limbs" is a further recalibration toward something leaner and more subtle than anything the band has produced before.

It's clear right off the bat that dub-step is the flavour de jour on "King of Limbs." Whether it is his collaboration with Flying Lotus or his dubstep heavy playlists, leadman Thom Yorke makes no secret about his love of the genre. This love translates to skittish beats and ghostly skeletal production throughout "King of Limbs." Given that we haven't heard from Burial in forever, a Radiohead dubstep project isn't too bad of a proposition, but of course this is Radiohead, so this is much more than a dubstep album, rather it is but one ingredient among many.

The record starts off with "In Bloom," which bares one of those skittish beats that almost sounds like rain against a tin roof. Various blips of IDM-influenced electronica round out the track as Yorke carves out a melody with his vocals. What is most significant about the track, is that it is incredibly subtle, featuring rather dense production that is toned way way down. There are strings, horns and all sorts of sonic swells that are easy to miss on the first listen, and that lesser bands would have drowned the song in. Yet, Radiohead are comfortable enough to cast them off into deep space, almost out of the listener's sight. It's kind of a ballsy move, and one that makes you realize that no other band this big would ever do it. Coldplay and U2 come to mind, and neither would produce a track like "In Bloom," it is too scaled down, too small for them. Yet, in it's current state it is also a lot more durable and fascinating than anything either of those bands would do with the same set of sonic materials at their disposal.

"Morning Mr. Magpie" follows and recalls Yorke's solo material on "Eraser," which isn't a bad thing, but it does seem like it is missing some of the band's magic that makes Radiohead unique as a unit. That magic is back, though, on "Little By Little," another dense little number driven by menacing circular guitars that sound almost like they are being played in reverse. The track solidifies a noticeable shift from the more lively "In Rainbows," because at three songs in, "King of Limbs" is long on dank dark textures with nary a pop song, much less a love song, in sight. And if Yorke's verse "Obligation, complication, routines and schedules drug and kill you. Kill you," don't tip you off that we are in existential dread mode here, the spectral "Feral" will. Frankly though, this is what I listen to Radiohead for. I don't want a damn love song from Thom Yorke, I want the dread of our time bubbling and seething and crushing the soul. That dread is what Radiohead do best and their ability to place it in the context of accessible, but experimental, pop music is what makes them great. Thankfully "King of Limbs" is full of dread and existential disconnect.

The only wrong turn the band makes is the freak-folk infected "Give Up The Ghost." It's a pretty number, but maybe just a little too slight, and let's be honest, freak-folk died years ago. Also album closer "Separator" is the closest thing to filler the band has ever put on an album. I've heard the song many times now, but can't even remember what it sounds like even when it is playing.

In the end, this is another fine record in a long line of fine records from Radiohead. It isn't as important or massive as "The Bends," "OK Computer" or "Kid A," but it is a solid record that finds the band redefining themselves once again, and makes for a listen that rewards whether it is in the background or through the close inspection of headphones. This is Radiohead, after all, and there is no one else like them in the history of popular music. I can nitpick about a couple of weak tracks here and there, and so can you, but come on; it's Radiohead, and even their worst song is better than most bands' best songs.

"Lotus Flower"

Radiohead 'Lotus Flower' from Trim Editing on Vimeo.