Radiohead: In Rainbows (2007)

New Wax


Radiohead’s first major album since 2003 is out, folks—and it’s available for download. Big deal, right? Here comes the tricky part: purchasing In Rainbows is a bit like visiting a natural history museum: you can pay whatever price you feel is appropriate. If jack squat seems appropriate to you, then jack squat is the buying rate. The band’s decision to bypass the big bad record labels and reach their fans directly might inspire some important upheavals in the industry (apparently NIN, Oasis, and Jamiroquai are also considering a similar approach). The thought of a market shift toward such a “pay whatever works” approach to music sales would certainly generate its share of ulcers at iTunes headquarters. But enough about money—what about the music?

Speaking as a fairly loyal Radiohead fan, I’m going to suggest an alternate title for the album: Hit and Miss. Gone are the long, obtuse song titles that defined Hail to the Thief. Songs like “Go to Sleep (Little Man Being Erased),” and “Sail to the Moon (Brush the Cobwebs from Your Eyes)” read like experimentalist poetry, while the actual song lyrics painted an expansive fictional landscape that carried considerable emotional weight. Many of the lyrics also resisted direct interpretation, making them timeless and perpetually rewarding. In contrast, In Rainbows feels a bit more austere musically, while Yorke’s lyrics feel a bit more reductive. Previous albums have invoked the voices of electronic instruments while retaining a fractured, dirty, atonal edge—like a “detuned radio,” to borrow from Yorke’s catalogue. In general, In Rainbows offers a predictable emphasis on electronic feels and staccato beats, but the album sounds more polished. It’s classic Radiohead, but with a few more coats of lacquer. That being said, I can’t dispute the brilliance of “Reckoner,” with its deliciously distorted cymbal pattern.

I’m not sure what’s brewing in Yorke’s personal life, but whereas previous songs might have contained subtle references to a lover or potential lover, several songs from the new album, including “Nude,” “All I Need,” “House of Cards,” “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” and “Videotape,” seem to feature a speaker concerned with a romantic “other,” albeit Yorke distorts such situations into visions of painful temptations and thwarted desires, making the tracks much more compelling than your typical lover’s lament. Yorke’s lyrical prowess shines in “All I Need.” The speaker laments: “I’m an animal / trapped in your hot car.” We’ve all been there, right folks? Fortunately, several tracks showcase Yorke’s true forte—statements on the human condition. The jarring structure of “Faust ARP” is haunting; it feels something like falling down a well in slow motion, on Loritab. Lines from songs such as “Reckoner” are deceptively simple, generating more depth with each repetition: “Because we separate / it ripples our reflections.” Yorke voices his postmodern angst in “Bodysnatchers”: “Has the light gone out for you? / Cause the light’s gone out for me / It is the 21st century.”

The bottom line: you can secure a copy of In Rainbows for free, so there’s really no point in stewing over whether or not it’s a justifiable purchase. GET IT.

I can’t say that In Rainbows will soar to the top of my proverbial Radiohead charts. The album offers flashes of brilliance, but carries its share of disappointing moments as well, such as this one: “You are all I need.” Maybe Radiohead nostalgia has skewed my perception, but I miss my abstract imagery and gritty melodies. -- Kilgore Trout

Listen:
MP3: Radiohead - Faust ARP
MP3: Radiohead - Reckoner
MP3: Radiohead - Videotape

Tags: Radiohead, In Rainbows, Thom Yorke