Whether you’re a fan of Radiohead or not, you have to admit they’re no slouches when it comes to marketing. Already known for pioneering the “honesty box” payment method with 'In Rainbows' in 2007, they’ve got everyone in a tizzy again with 'The King Of Limbs'. As if an out-of-the-blue announcement of an album release in just five days time wasn’t enough, they then brought the date forward by 24 hours with no warning.
On the day itself, bloggers and web journalists tripped over themselves - and each other - in an attempt to be the first to review the record, but now the dust has settled, The King Of Limbs can be seen in context, divorced from the brouhaha surrounding its release. What we’re left with is an album which is striking on first listen, promises a great deal, but ultimately fails to deliver.
The King Of Limbs is very much an album of two sides. The first five tracks display a more prominent dance influence than any of their previous work, while the last three (yes, there are only eight songs) are more sedate and genteel, as if the band have exhausted their capacity for intensity.
The “dance” side is propelled by twitchy, off-kilter rhythms and wandering basslines, but it’s too often a case of style over substance. Opening track, 'Bloom', is unsettling enough to hold the listener’s attention with its bursts of white noise and backward looping effects, but subsequent numbers are too similar. Feral is the worst offender - an urgent, breathless song with a soupçon of dubstep that sounds like a work in progress. Chord stabs are barely there, hints of melody are snatched at and the threat that something interesting might happen is never realised.
These five songs are far from a pointless exercise though. 'Little By Little' sounds like a Morricone score in a hall of mirrors and its descending, chiming chords are haunting. As Yorke’s falsetto
reaches at the lyrics, “Little by little, by hook or by crook / You are such a tease and I am such a flirt”, it’s striking how incongruous the chorus sounds. That’s because it’s pretty much the only chorus on offer throughout the record. It’s also telling that 'Little By Little' is one of the highlights as well as sounding most like Radiohead in their 90s pomp.
This rhythm-driven approach comes to an abrupt end with 'Codex', a gorgeous, reverb-drenched piece which would soundtrack slow-motion footage of a space walk perfectly. It’s probably the strongest, most melodious work on show, and provides a welcome counterpart to the frostiness of the first act. We then get our first burst of acoustic guitar on the mournful 'Give Up The Ghost' before 'Separator' - a pretty yet insubstantial song - closes the record.
If this all sounds a bit “glass half-empty”, it’s worth noting that Radiohead ought to be commended for trying something experimental like this so far into their career. It’s difficult to think of a band this popular who would still be taking these kinds of risks after so many albums. It’s just that, sadly, 'The King Of Limbs' is more of a record to appreciate than love, a thing of intrigue rather than a thing of joy. After many listens, it recently struck me that 90% of everything you need to know about each track occurs in its first ten seconds, and that kind of limitation isn’t going to keep you going back for more.
So, is 'The King Of Limbs' a stop-gap? It may well be, but it’s also true that Radiohead’s stop-gaps are better than most bands’ finest albums, so there needn’t be too much cause for alarm. 'The King Of Limbs' isn’t a bad record by any means, but in a canon that includes 'OK Computer', 'Kid A' and 'In Rainbows', it can’t help but be tinged with disappointment.
Joe Rivers, February 2011
On the day itself, bloggers and web journalists tripped over themselves - and each other - in an attempt to be the first to review the record, but now the dust has settled, The King Of Limbs can be seen in context, divorced from the brouhaha surrounding its release. What we’re left with is an album which is striking on first listen, promises a great deal, but ultimately fails to deliver.
The King Of Limbs is very much an album of two sides. The first five tracks display a more prominent dance influence than any of their previous work, while the last three (yes, there are only eight songs) are more sedate and genteel, as if the band have exhausted their capacity for intensity.
The “dance” side is propelled by twitchy, off-kilter rhythms and wandering basslines, but it’s too often a case of style over substance. Opening track, 'Bloom', is unsettling enough to hold the listener’s attention with its bursts of white noise and backward looping effects, but subsequent numbers are too similar. Feral is the worst offender - an urgent, breathless song with a soupçon of dubstep that sounds like a work in progress. Chord stabs are barely there, hints of melody are snatched at and the threat that something interesting might happen is never realised.
These five songs are far from a pointless exercise though. 'Little By Little' sounds like a Morricone score in a hall of mirrors and its descending, chiming chords are haunting. As Yorke’s falsetto
reaches at the lyrics, “Little by little, by hook or by crook / You are such a tease and I am such a flirt”, it’s striking how incongruous the chorus sounds. That’s because it’s pretty much the only chorus on offer throughout the record. It’s also telling that 'Little By Little' is one of the highlights as well as sounding most like Radiohead in their 90s pomp.
This rhythm-driven approach comes to an abrupt end with 'Codex', a gorgeous, reverb-drenched piece which would soundtrack slow-motion footage of a space walk perfectly. It’s probably the strongest, most melodious work on show, and provides a welcome counterpart to the frostiness of the first act. We then get our first burst of acoustic guitar on the mournful 'Give Up The Ghost' before 'Separator' - a pretty yet insubstantial song - closes the record.
If this all sounds a bit “glass half-empty”, it’s worth noting that Radiohead ought to be commended for trying something experimental like this so far into their career. It’s difficult to think of a band this popular who would still be taking these kinds of risks after so many albums. It’s just that, sadly, 'The King Of Limbs' is more of a record to appreciate than love, a thing of intrigue rather than a thing of joy. After many listens, it recently struck me that 90% of everything you need to know about each track occurs in its first ten seconds, and that kind of limitation isn’t going to keep you going back for more.
So, is 'The King Of Limbs' a stop-gap? It may well be, but it’s also true that Radiohead’s stop-gaps are better than most bands’ finest albums, so there needn’t be too much cause for alarm. 'The King Of Limbs' isn’t a bad record by any means, but in a canon that includes 'OK Computer', 'Kid A' and 'In Rainbows', it can’t help but be tinged with disappointment.
Joe Rivers, February 2011
