Radiohead - The King of Limbs (2011)

Radiohead surprised the world when they announced that they were set to release a new album this February. More surprising was the news that the release was set for a few days after the announcement. So more than three years on from their last big release, what did they come up with?

The first thing of note is the length of the album. While previous effort In Rainbows was a tight, concise piece at 42 minutes, The King of Limbs is in fact five minutes shorter. Fine, you might think; shorter album, less filler. And first track “Bloom” is indeed a thing of beauty, giving you a taste of the harmonised vocals, broken beats and glitch electronic sounds that are to come.

That may all sound familiar, and it’s true that Radiohead don’t really look to branch into anything new with this album. Devotees will note a lot of similarities to the band’s last two major works. But maybe it’s unfair to call the band unadventurous purely on this basis – such a label seems foolish when the new album is compared to the anthemic rock that made them so big in the ‘90s.

There are certainly few anthems to be found here; the chorus is in short supply, only being heard on the rhythmic “Little By Little” and lead single “Lotus Flower”. Incidentally, the single’s video provides perfect fodder for those claiming that Thom Yorke has hogged creative duties and pushed the album into resembling his solo work (he certainly looks happy to be centre stage).

Nevertheless, it does all make for interesting listening; and while the rhythm and beats of the first half of the album may pass some by, slower-paced ballads arrive towards the end, allowing Yorke to fully flex his lyrical muscle. “Codex” is the pick of the lot, a very minimal yet emotional track evoking memories of “Videotape”. Closing song “Separator” is a very interesting one, combining a strong bassline with delicate-sounding strings and lyrics which have caused some speculation amongst listeners that this 37-minute piece may only be half of a larger work to be completed by Radiohead in the near future. Or it may just be that “If you think this is over then you’re wrong” is affirmation of the afterlife in a song about passage from earthly being.

Now, this album takes some listening to (as with most of Radiohead’s work) in order to get past an initial barrier. My concern was that it took too many listens to get into. I always think of it as a bad sign when you find yourself making an effort to like an album, especially when it’s so short that it should require no effort listening to.

At the same time, there’s enough on every single track to pique your interest. Perhaps it’s the fact that, as mentioned earlier, The King of Limbs doesn’t dramatically break any new ground for the band. This could have been an astonishing achievement for another band but it’s hard not to feel a tinge of disappointment at Radiohead’s latest effort.

7/10

This album was self-released by Radiohead and is available digitally from their website or on CD from Amazon.