Radiohead - The King of Limbs Review

2011 is the year of the entity. Oh sure, you could say that like every other year there might be one record that stands head and shoulders above the rest, chest pushed out, standing tall like a god whilst it’s contemporary counter-parts cower behind the mountains of shit, hoping for a breakthrough or crack to appear that they can fill the void.

I say this as the aptly titled The King of Limbs, the long awaited release from alternative band Radiohead finally saw release two weeks ago to the screams and adulation of its increasingly devoted/demented fanbase. As always (well, since Kid A), no one had any idea what to expect other than perhaps the greatest thing released ever.

So, now that time had past and we can get past the confetti and deafening screams, what does The King of Limbs bring to the table?

Minimalism, no structure and the least accessible album since Kid A.

So yeah, what was hinted as a heavily acoustic-piano based record with around twenty known songs in the pipeline has evolved into eight (count ‘em, eight) tracks, running just over half an hour and with no real instruments prevalent.

It’s a strange scenario as The King of Limbs has more in common with Thom Yorke’s solo debut than any Radiohead album before it. Opening track Bloom, a scattery, non-structure relative to OK Computer's Airbag begins our strange journey through the proverbial woods. It’s a decent opener, if a bit too long.

From there, the songs get gradually easier on the ears. Morning Mr. Magpie; an Amnesiac left-over which began as a Beatles-esque acoustic pop song has morphed into a nervous, jittery wreck. Little by Little, one of the only radio-friendly songs on the record brings themes raised in Jigsaw Falling into Place from In Rainbows with Yorke’s strangely playful voice telling a lover how they work well together.

The album gets to the halfway point with Feral which in an album of relations, is a much more pleasant descendent of The Gloaming. Although there are vocals, they’re incomprehensible and utilise Yorke’s previous comments on using his voice as an instrument.

Finally, five songs in, we reach Lotus Flower, the first song with a common structure of verse, pre-chorus and chorus and it’s hear the record finally becomes to the same standard of Radiohead we’ve come to know and love.

In the theme of keeping things similar but different, we come to Codex (or Pyramid Song part two). It’s a slow, sombre piano song with the occasional French horn. Give Up the Ghost, a live favourite finally makes its studio appearance, Another slow but sombre song with Yorke’s voice sampled throughout.

The album quickly reaches a close at Separator (or formally known as Mouse Dog Bird). The song starts off slowly but picks up around the middle with lyrics hinting at a continuation (or what isn’t clear at this stage but optimists are hoping for new tracks).

So, upon first listening, The King of Limbs isn’t anything particularly special. It sounds intentionally difficult to listen to and even after an eleven year gap, Radiohead have somehow made Kid A easier on the ears.

If however you’re like me, you’ll give it a second listen immediately and from here, the record sounds different and far more pleasant. It’s a strange experience as the album isn’t droning enough to be classified as drone music but the ambience and brief breaks beyond the repetitive beats and difficult structures are far more noticeable. Eventually after multiple listens it becomes easier on the ears and can be looked in a favourable light.

The biggest problem with The King of Limbs is it doesn’t feel like a band effort. There’s nothing here that suggests the band is working as a cohesive unit and anything here could have just as easily been used as a follow up to Yorke’s solo effort The Eraser.

Another is anyone who’s listened to electronica recently will see similarities between songs on the record and the sound of other artists. Lotus Flower, one of the best songs on the record is an amalgamation of anything Four Tet have released and Feral sounds like a proverbial cover of The Gloaming by Burial.

It’s not the first time Radiohead have done this and to be honest, all music is basically inspired from one another but I can’t help but think, if this wasn’t a Radiohead album, it wouldn’t have received the same adulation and praise and simply would have been left in the dust.

So where does this leave The King of Limbs? Is it the best Radiohead album? Not by a long shot (that accolade will probably remain with OK Computer forever). Is it the best album they’ve released using a laptop? Only time will tell.

Is it good? No, it’s very good but it lacks the organics of In Rainbows or the revolution of Kid A and after a four year wait, it’s only just worth waiting for.

8/10