RADIOHEAD

THE KING OF LIMBS

thekingsoflimbs.com

So if you're reading this blog, there's a pretty good chance you've already heard this album. But if not, hopefully this entry will convince you to download it at the link above. I like to use this blog as a way to put the spotlight on albums that tend to get lost in the shuffle. Although, over the years, Radiohead needs no introduction; I was a little surprised by some of the negative criticisms of this album so far. I was even more surprised by the insane amount of reviews people had typed up on blogs only hours after the album was released.

Radiohead creates some of the most challenging and unique music in the alternative rock scene today. And it's impossible to have a clear concept of their albums from only a few listens. Radiohead do not make background music, but rather songs that need to be carefully listened to with a good pair of headphones. The King of Limbs is no exception.

Prior to releasing this album, during an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Ed O'Brien was quoted as saying:

“In terms of the band, we feel way more empowered in terms of our art and what we’re doing. We have been rehearsing for the last four weeks, for this new record. And we are in a very different place, a very new place. I don’t know if this is relevant, but I was talking with Philip three days ago about this. We were saying, “What’s different?” And one of the things is we do things without fear. A lot of where we come from — our education, our upbringing — manifests itself in the shadow of fear. I love that Talking Heads album title, Fear of Music. There has been a lot of that. And in a sense, I don’t think it served us too badly. It kept us on our toes. It kept us trying to seek new areas artistically.”

At only 37 minutes and 8 songs long, The King of Limbs is Radiohead's shortest album yet. The group once again teams up with their go-to-producer - Nigel Godrich for this album. The King of Limbs has a free flowing, always in motion feel to it that gets pretty tense and mysterious at times. The best way I can describe it is the boat ride scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, where everyone is scared and ready to jump out at any moment only to suddenly wake up in the peaceful surroundings of oompa loompas and chocolate (somewhere around track 5). Although not as easily accessible as some of their past work, one of the things that makes this album so great is the way these songs flow together so perfectly (and other than Kid A, nothing else has matched it in my opinion). With that being said, individually the tracks on the first half of the album don't tend to hold up as well on their own. Soundwise, this album falls somewhere between Thom Yorke's beat heavy electro-indie record - The Eraser, Kid A, and In Rainbows.

The opening song - Bloom, sets the tone for the first half of the record. A sad watery piano opens the song and soon fades into a fuzzy fast paced drum loop. Throughout the song, waves of trumpets fade in and out of the background creating that mood of traveling into the abyss, which brings in Good Morning Mr. Magpie* (see bottom of page). In the song, Thom Yorke angrily sings "You've got some nerve coming here! You've stole it all! Give it Back!" over a trance-like attack of noises that sounds like a guitar or a synthesizer.

Little By Little comes in and pulls you even deeper into the heart of the album with its resounding brassy pulsating rhythms, the first noticeable electric guitars on the album and strange tape loops fading in and out of the background. As with the first two songs, these background sounds continue to give off the effect of travel and movement. Feral is an instrumental track that keeps a similar fast beat heavy feel to the first few songs but sounds more sparse, and desolate.

The fifth song on the album - Lotus Flower% is really where this album goes from good to great. Thom Yorke's dream like vocals are the most memorable of the album. The electronic beats are still as fast and in your face as ever but this time around, the vocals seem to pull you in more naturally....... which brings you to a smooth stop at Codex, which is probably my favorite song of the album. Every song on this album at this point feels like it has been leading you to this song, which is the most peaceful 5 minutes of the album. The electro thumps are gone and instead you get a piano, a classic vocal, as well as some perfectly placed horns halfway through. The track ends with the sound of birds chirping.

Giving Up the Ghost@ is the most haunting track on The King of Limbs. With it's dead sounding drum beat, lazily strummed acoustic guitar, and reverb drenched vocals that fade in and out with a trumpet; the song gets bigger and bigger as it goes on. The final song mysteriously retitled from Mouse, Dog, Bird to Separator brings back the beats from the first half of the album but there is a hopeful feeling in the song as Yorke sings about finally "being free of the weight he has been carrying". Jonny Greenwood plays some bright fluid guitar passages that gradually start to fade out before coming to a sudden stop.

This brings me to my next conclusion. I am willing to bet last week's pay check that Radiohead will release another EP/Album within the next year. After waiting over 3 years, I find it very doubtful that this is it. Putting that all aside, after somewhere around 15 listens or so, I'm pretty confident that stacked up against Radiohead's other 7 albums, this one falls somewhere between the middle and bottom for me. However, with that being said, The King of Limbs is still a fantastic album. Although it doesn't have the instant classic songs of past albums, this is an album I'm likely to play again and again; and still discover new sounds. The King of Limbs will definitely be one of my favorites of the year.

* A magpie is a type of crow that is found in parts of Europe and is said to bring bad luck, By greeting the bird, you are helping to ward off bad luck.

% A lotus flower is the sign of purity in Buddhism.

@ Give Up the Ghost is another way of saying stop trying.