Radiohead - The King of Limbs

Like any other good Radiohead fan, I believe that saying there is a bad Radiohead album is a contradiction in and of itself. There are great Radiohead albums, and there are not so great Radiohead albums, but never a bad one. We Thom Yorke lovers, we Jonny Greenwood aficionados, we Phil Selway appreciators, we Collin Greenwood stalkers, and we Ed O’Brien fanatics all like the Radiohead albums, just in an order that goes from most liked to least liked, and even that fact differs between us all. One thing is for sure, though: once we jump on the Radiohead wagon, no matter how late we may have jumped on, we stay on top of it.

So imagine my surprise when I heard about how Radiohead released a new album entitled The King of Limbs online on the 18^thof February 2011…a week after the fact. Needless to say, I sprinted to my computer to download their album and hear about why and how I didn’t hear about it sooner. Turns out that they had the whole project wrapped up in secrecy and announced the album and its release date a week before it came out, and then, on top of that, decided to release it a day earlier than expected; such a classic, Radiohead move.

Before I move on to my analysis/critique/praise/review of the album, I feel the need to disclose my order of favorite Radiohead studio albums that were released prior to The King of Limbs so you, my dear reader, may see where I’m coming from. Be warned: there is a 100% chance that you will disagree with me on my order. Yet that is the beauty of being a Radiohead fan. We all agree to disagree on favorites, and we understand, nay, respect each other’s views, because of one, simple fact: we love this group.

Here goes:


1.) The Bends – Immediate disagreement from you begins now, and I realize this. Yet something about this album draws me in like no other one. Whether it’s the easily recognizable guitar strumming and high pitch chorus of “High and Dry” or the moody mumbling of Yorke in “My Iron Lung”, maybe even the artsy, subtitled music video for “Just”, or perhaps even the titular track is the selling point, one thing is clear: I love this album like no other.


2.) In Rainbows – I remember when this album came out; my older brother brought it and would play it all the time when he was back from college/life. Great timing for me, because 2007 was about the time when I got into music hardcore. My bias towards this album might also have something to do with Jaydiohead’s excellent sampling of “15 Steps”. Regardless, I love this album.


3.) OK Computer – It’s easy to see why this album is considered Radiohead’s magnum opus, and why it is a classic in general. This is where Radiohead started to become less rock and more electronic in sound. The songs are great, but it wasn’t mind-blowing for me like some of Radiohead’s other stuff. I don’t know…maybe it’s because I wasn’t into music when this came out, so I wasn’t there in the moment.


4.) - 7.) Kid A/Amnesiac/Hail to the Thief/Pablo Honey – A three-way tie, but there is no particular order of preference here for me. These albums were great, but they just didn’t grab a hold of me like the others did.

Now that you all know how I view Radiohead’s work, please allow me to return to the task at hand: namely, reviewing The King of Limbs.

When one listens to a Radiohead album, one needs to listen to it over and over again to fully appreciate it. You need to enjoy it the first time around for what it is, then you need to analyze each song individually, next you need to analyze the album in its entirety, and finally you can enjoy it, analyze it, and basically do whatever you want with it afterwards. The King of Limbs is only half an hour long, and each song is basically around the five minute mark, give or take some seconds here and there, and there are only eight tracks. So it shouldn’t be cumbersome for anyone to listen to this album. Not that listening to good music is cumbersome anyways.

What I really like about “Bloom”, and this goes for most opening tracks on any album, is that it really sets up for what the rest of the album is going to be like. We can definitely tell that there are some similarities between this album and In Rainbows, Radiohead’s previous effort, but at the same time we can clearly see, or hear, rather, the differences.

I feel that a good selling point for any song or two, or sometimes an album, is transition. The King of Limbs is chockfull of them, but a perfect example is the transition between “Bloom” and “Morning Mr Magpie”. If “Bloom” is my second favorite song in The King of Limbs, then “Morning Mr Magpie” is hands down a close third.

Every artist needs some part of a song or maybe even an entire song for people to sing along to. That part is almost unanimously given to the chorus, since that’s what the chorus’ job description is. “Little by Little” is Radiohead’s “sing along song”, for lack of a better term. By no means is it a bad song, and by no means are “sing along songs” bad. God knows I’ve sung the explicit version of “Forget You” by Cee Lo Green in the shower more times than I care to count. Yet this song didn’t catch my attention nearly as much as the previous tracks did.

“Quick break (noun) - after the end of a song, there is a small amount of time that is silent between the songs that lasts a second or two or maybe even less, and then the next song goes right into a complex beat with little to no startup or transition”; a term I made up a while back when I got into music. People know what this is, but they may call it something else, since there is no definition of it. That’s what happens between “Little by Little” and “Feral”. Sometimes a quick break works, and sometimes it doesn’t. It works great here. The beat is indeed complex throughout “Feral”, and it caught and held my attention right off the bat.

“Lotus Flower”, the first single off of The King of Limbs, and whose music video shows off Thom Yorke’s…dancing skills…even their song “Just” off of The Bends has a less weird video. But I digress. I can see why this was chosen as a single, despite my preference of “Bloom”. Yet both “Lotus Flower” and “Bloom” tell us the same thing in a different way, which is hard to do in any medium, music including. They tell us, “This is what the album is going to be like, so get ready.” In a way,“Bloom” tells us this in the start, and “Lotus Flower” is like a midway reminder of the message.

What a great way to start “Codex”, I must give props to Radiohead. Having Thom Yorke start to sing and then immediately cut him off is like having blue balls in music. It leaves us wanting more, and it eventually gives it to us in a not-haunting-but-still-kind-of-creepy piano driven ballad.

“Give Up the Ghost” keeps the creepiness of “Codex” by having everyone in Radiohead sans Thom Yorke chant repeatedly, “Don’t haunt me.” This repeated line doesn’t just fit the album’s theme…it IS the album’s theme. Once again, Radiohead is trying to make us all live better, and that means taking care of each other and of nature. Don’t haunt, or hurt, each other, don’t hurt what’s around you, don’t hurt yourself, and, above all, “Don’t haunt me.” Where “Codex” was all about the piano, “Give Up the Ghost” is all about the acoustic guitar, and, wow, does it make this song sound like it came from a Grizzly Bear or a Department of Eagles album. I don’t mean that Radiohead doesn’t sound like Radiohead, which is ridiculous and insulting. Rather, I am saying that Radiohead is at the edge of not sounding like Radiohead, which is super risky and tricky, but, God, does it work fantastically. On that note, I would like to take advantage of this moment and declare that this is my personal favorite song of The King of Limbs.

Last but certainly not least is the closing song, “Separator”. It has a not too simple but not too complex beat throughout, and Yorke keeps the singing style. Sadly, this album, in my opinion, does not close nearly as well as it opens. “Separator” has the same problem “Little by Little” had: it’s an alright song, but it doesn’t do too much to make it stand out. The best part of the song is the contrast of the ever present beat and the high plucking guitar strings that perfectly match Yorke who also goes higher in pitch, and that doesn’t happen until around the 2:30 mark. On top of that, “Separator” doesn’t have a catchy, “sing along song”quality or sing along chorus that “Little by Little” had, which was what saved and nearly killed it in the first place.

Overall, though, when listening to the album in its entirety, I have to admit that I really do enjoy it. It isn’t Radiohead’s best, but it certainly isn’t Radiohead’s worst. In my list, I believe I would have it on par with OK Computer, maybe even above it by a little bit. It reminds me of In Rainbows, but it stands out in its own quality. Besides, the excitement I had when I heard about this album’s release just makes it all the more worthwhile. Believe me when I tell you that this album didn’t hurt Radiohead at all, it didn’t hurt their fan base, and it certainly didn’t hurt me.

The King of Limbs by Radiohead is out now digitally and physically online and in stores everywhere, respectively.

REVIEW RATING:

★★★★★