18 February 2013

18th Feb - Radiohead's The King of Limbs


Artist – Album: Radiohead – The King of Limbs
Released:  18th February 2011    
Sounds Like: It could slip your attention

Whisper it, but I get the feeling that Radiohead aren’t really bothered any more. I can’t say that I blame them; after all, over the last 20 years they’ve released consistently brilliant records, including a smattering that can be listed amongst the greatest of all time. They’ve had immensely successful singles without ever compromising their artful direction, and in doing so they’ve become worldwide superstars.

But listening to this, their eighth album, you don’t really get of any of that. You get more of the sense that Thom Yorke and co had been kicking around for a while, watching Friends repeats and drinking peppermint tea in their mansions, when they suddenly call from their record company demanding that they pull together a new album, like, now. Even the actual release was a bit slapdash, being that its arrival was only announced five days before it actually came out.

I mean, they’re still a great band and there’s plenty here to enjoy. They continue to craft wonderfully textured, electronic pieces and I was impressed with the beautiful melancholy of the final three tracks, particularly the haunting ‘Give Up the Ghost’. But too often it felt like they were just retreading old ground. Put together a few robotic bubble and squeaks, add a sparse backbeat and get Mr Yorke to warble over it indecipherably for four minutes. Repeat x 8. There’s not a lot more to it is there?

This one’s for the fans (Radiohead-heads?) and not the must-have record that pretty much everything else they’ve produced is.

Albumaday... rating: 6/10

1.       Bloom – 5:15
2.       Morning Mr Magpie – 4:41
3.       Little by Little – 4:27
4.       Feral – 3:13
5.       Lotus Flower – 5:01
6.       Codex – 4:47
7.       Give Up the Ghost – 4:50
8.       Separator – 5:20

Listen to ‘Give Up the Ghost’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41Yz5JtnNwM



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