The signature power chords, soaring choruses and anthems of the traditional Radiohead sound have been replaced with a set of overpowering electronics that seem to overwhelm every other aspect of their music. Put simply: There are no rock songs on Radiohead’s newest release. The King of Limbs is an album of abstract music and lyrics meant to be enjoyed abstractly.
If you like Radiohead, you will either be enveloped in the atmosphere of Limbs or you will be completely let down. If you don’t like Radiohead, this probably won’t convert you, unless you’re way into dubstep.
The front half of Radiohead’s eighth album finds them expanding on the krautrock of Kid A, whereas the second half brings to mind the ballads of In Rainbows. Loops, delays and effects dominate the album, much like the music of Burial and Flying Lotus (a past collaborator with Thom Yorke).
The band stretches bass notes, manipulates vocals and repeats 10-second drum samples for minutes on end. For instance, “Feral” is made up of appropriately up-tempo percussion loops and chopped-up vocals without any recognizable guitar causing listeners to wonder what principle songwriter, guitarist Johnny Greenwood did for the majority of the album.
Lead single “Lotus Flower” begins with an interlocking bass and resounding snare figure reminiscent of the Kid A classic “Idioteque.” The figure holds for the rest of the song, as synths come and go and Yorke encapsulates the album’s vibe when he sings, “Slowly we unfold / As lotus flowers.” Slowly, the intricacies of the music unfold and reveal the beauty of Limbs.
“Bloom” opens with bubbling electronics and clattering drums, then piles on Yorke’s mush-mouth vocals and crescendos with his cavernous wails. “Little By Little” plays like classic Radiohead – jazzy, tinkling percussion, a walking bassline, and guitar arpeggios going in different directions.
Sequentially and musically, “Morning Mr Magpie” is the link between the two. Jittery guitar picking gradually give way to a sweeping electronic sound. Then midway through, the song rebuilds itself on a running bassline with Thom’s dreamy “oohs.” The music cuts out with the line, “Took my melody,” and ends with a machine-like drone.
Though many singers – most notably Chris Martin and the main Muse vocalist – have tried to emulate Yorke, no one sings quite like him. And his ever-impressionistic falsetto only continues to shine on Limbs. In “Lotus Flower,” it’s Yorke’s spine-tingling voice that sets the listener on edge. “Codex” manipulates piano and Yorke’s lonesome vocals. But instead of building to a climax like in “Karma Police,” they create a meditative, mournful atmosphere.
In an album filled with electronics, it’s the natural sounding accents that create dynamism. The acoustic guitar in “Give Up The Ghost” and jazzy rhythm section in “Separator” combine with spacey vocals and synths to give the music poignancy.
If a mid-level indie band made The King of Limbs, it wouldn’t have made nearly the same impact. But because Radiohead is arguably one of the biggest bands in the world, they can self-release an album four days after announcing it and set the music world atwitter.
Available now in mp3 or wav format for $9 and in May as a deluxe “newspaper” edition set to contain hundreds of pieces of artwork as well as vinyl and CD versions of the album, The King of Limbs exemplifies all the innovative ways a band can cleverly market itself during a undeniably chaotic era in the music industry.
3.5 out of 5 stars
