The King of Limbs

I'm not referring to the oak tree in Savernake Forest so any botanists out there can reign in their excitement. But David! If you're not talking about the famous tree what ARE you talking about? Thanks for asking because I'm going to tell you! For any of you not versed in the music scene The King of Limbs (TKoL) is the title of the newly released Radiohead album. Those of you who have never heard of Radiohead yet might want to reconsider your stance on music. This is one of only a hand full of bands that I will always love unconditionally. They've moved up in the world from a relatively unknown alternative rock band to 3x Grammy winner with 3 nominations for Album of the Year but who's keeping score?

This past Monday Radiohead became the talk of the music scene again, less than 24 hours after the biggest award music ceremony of the year came to a close. Gaga sat in an egg, Bieber and Drake lost to a jazz singer that apparently no one has heard of (Esperanza Spalding is her name and yes, I do suggest you give her a listen as well), and Mumford and Sons and The Avett Brothers (two of my current big listens) played back up for Bob Dylan but that all took a back seat to Radiohead's announcement that their newest album would be available on Saturday.


That's right, in this day and age of piracy and leaked information Radiohead was once again able to drum up a  frenzy in their fans for a new album. Now that's a camp that knows how to control information. Nobody announces an album 5 days before it's supposed to be released and gives no track list or single as a tease. Nobody, it would seem, except Radiohead. 


When In Rainbows came out in 2007 it was the first project that band released without a label. They offered it as a pay-what-you-want digital download months before a physical copy was available anywhere. It was their first foray into viral marketing and by golly it worked like a charm. It reached #1 on most charts around the world when it was physically released and made and introduced anyone with the internet and an inclination to their music free of charge. The hype machine went wild with the apparent success.


This time around the process was similar but with a forced payment for those wishing to own the tracks legally. If you head over to their website you can purchase the mp3 files for $9 (a price that I would guess they determined based on the amount that most people payed for In Rainbows in 2007). Just like they did in 2007 they are also offering a special box set vinyl which will only be available through the bands pre-sale going on now. I've been kicking myself for not buying it last time so I jumped at the chance to get this one.


They ended up releasing the tracks a day early in the end, I'm not sure why, but once again it created a frenzy. I was up at the Mansion when I heard so I decided to wait until after work today to download and listen to the 8 tracks that make up TKoL.

Creepy looking isn't it?

The first time I listened to it I would have sworn to you that there were no lyrics. I thought that Thom basically sat back on this one and let Peter do most of the work. I mean, there are cool instrumental bits and Thom's falsetto basically sounds like a trumpet when you don't know what he's saying, but there is plenty of singing on this album. I was very sucked into the background instantly. It was kinda like being sucked into a vortex of sound. I laid back, closed my eyes, and went with it. I ended up in some warm places and some scary places, but, just as Thom always does, he left me feeling good.


In terms of overall sounds I would compare this album much more with Amnesiac and Kid A than I would with In Rainbows. I'm not the biggest Amnesiac fan either, but this album seems to be sitting better than that even after only 4 listens. It's a Radiohead album, and if you don't like their work this isn't going to change your mind. My initial feeling is that it's a good album, but it's not game changing like In Rainbows, OK Computer, or Kid A. The best news that we have is that Thom and Radiohead will be making waves with their music for the foreseeable future. In the repeating lyrics of TKoL's final track: "if you think this is over then you're wrong."


Song of the day - Codex by Radiohead


Cheers,
David