The new Radiohead has now polluted my home for the last week, since it was made available via one of the bands many websites. The way that the media was delivered to the masses has the potential to really change the way that we legally access music. The new release, "In Rainbows", was made available as a digital download for whatever price the purchaser wished to contribute. The normal standards, album, cd, whatever else, will be made officially released early next year. (There is a limited box set that is available for a mere 40 pounds, which, at this point, represents 80 dollars, due to the weak dollar on the international exchange)
There are a total of 10 tracks on the album, including the previously released track, Naked, and a mellow rendition of a personal live favorite, entitled Reckoner.
All in all, it is one of the best new albums that I have discovered in the last couple of years. The only other one that I can think of which comes close is from Silversun Pickups, but that is for another article.
What makes this album so good in the simplicity in it, which at first, I hated. At first, this album sounds so much like the last handful of radiohead albums, dreamy, confused beats with lead singer Thom Yorke signing over in what has become his signiture whine. The band have come such a long way since the days when they were a simple rock band that played guitars with fevor and sang with a slight angst. The new Radiohead still have their own sound, but it is not a sound which I normally listen to.
The same thing goes with this album, but there is something there that the albums were missing specifically and that, for me, is an understanding of what Yorke is getting at and how the band follow the lyrics more than the lyrics are playing in the back of the room and Thom's exploration into break beats takes charge. In short, this album has a soul and its compassion is for all of us, trapped in this dark mess. Read more!
