Radiohead are back on the scene with their killer new album "The King of Limbs". This promises to keep you guessing, leaving you unsure whether you like it or not at first listen. This is undoubtably Radiohead but you wonder what is missing. At first as I listened, I felt they had made a very simple, minimalist album of the standard verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge structure but as i continued to listen over and over again i began to delve deeper in to to each song, dissecting each part in my head. Yes, Radiohead may have delivered a more simple album in regards to some of their earlier albums such as "OK Computer" and "Hail To The Thief" but it definitely does not lack emotion or musicality that we now expect from Radiohead. There being only eight tracks on the album does make me wonder if there is another album not too far away.
The album opens with the track "Bloom". A classical piano run repeated, slowly develops in to a electronic based song with instruments slowly joining at appropriate times. Thom York comes in with his uniquely haunting vocals to take the track to another level. The song seems to just roll along until a big orchestral crescendo. Magnificent as it is we fall back in to the main frame of the track where York starts a call and response to himself. The song slowly fades, then suddenly stops.
The tracks do develop but not to the extent of "OK Computer", "Kid A" or "Hail To The Thief". There are some very interesting tracks on this album. "Little By Little" has this almost arabic vibe going on but still, its Radiohead. "Feral"feels like a B-Side off "Kid A"or "Amnesiac". Again it doe not develop much or contain lots of instruments or ideas that we are so used to expecting by now. This is not a bad thing though. "Give Up The Ghost" and "Seperator" feel very natural with the use of real instruments. These two are beautiful songs. So calm and collected they send you in to a world of your own. They would fit very well on "In Rainbows". The stand out track for me is "Codex". An beautifully peaceful track that would send a tear rolling down any listeners cheek. It is probably the simplest track on the album but this means nothing to the heart. It is an emotional song as a whole that touches you till the end. The main instruments through out the song are piano, vocals, drum machine playing a basic metronome beat and a modular sounding effect typical of band member Jonny Greenwood. It comes to an orchestral breakdown with the piano leading through till it slowly fades out, finishing the song.
A lot of Radiohead fans have bee disappointed with "The King of Limbs" which is a shame. I believe it is an amazing album. Different to their past works it show cases their 26 year career in 8 elegantly timeless tracks. It is much slower and quieter then their other albums but this is what i love about the album. As all Radiohead fans know the boys do not like making the same thing twice and with "The King of Limbs" they have once again achieved this.
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