Early release of Radiohead’s new album

A new Radiohead album is usually a time for celebration. The band has recorded some of the most critically respected albums of the last few decades, and it remains equally popular with fans. Since the release of “In Rainbows” in 2007, the band has become known for innovative marketing campaigns, and the release of “The King of Limbs” has been no different.

Early last week, the band announced the album would be available as a deluxe “newspaper album” (the world’s first, according to the band’s website), as well as simple downloads. Unlike the release of “In Rainbows,” there isn’t any option to legally purchase the album for free. Just as fans were preparing for the album’s Saturday release, Radiohead bumped the date up and announced Friday that the album was available for download (perhaps to thwart leaks, or maybe just because the band is impatient).

So now that all Radiohead fans have had time to scramble to their computers, it’s worth taking a look at “The King of Limbs” and how its sound differs from Radiohead’s previous releases.

The first thing that sticks out is a jazzy influence. The first track, “Bloom,” has a prevalence of keyboards in place of guitars. The funky but delicate bass line and repetitive drum lines sound like they could have come right out of a Miles Davis album circa 1972.

By track two, “Morning Mr. Magpie,” a trend toward more ambient music can be felt. Perhaps the drums are a little too energetic, but the other instrumental textures wouldn’t seem out of place in Brian Eno’s work. The band is more concerned with creating textures than the standout melodies of old, with abstract rather than figurative art.
The drum patterns are one of the biggest changes on “The King of Limbs” from previous Radiohead albums. Phil Selway’s patterns have always been somewhat minimalist, but these tracks take it to a new level. It sounds like the drums are just created from loops. I’m not sure if that’s actually the case or if Selway is just able to keep his attacks incredibly consistent.

So what about the emotional texture? The stereotype with Radiohead albums is that they are always depressing. Such a broad statement just sounds ignorant, but there has been some truth to it in the past. All of Radiohead’s albums have some pretty dark moments. In a sense, “The King of Limbs” is a bit of a departure from that. There’s only one song that could perhaps be called “happy,” and that’s the final track, “Separator.”

However, the album also eschews the kind of morose songs that populated parts of every previous album. The songs just end up sounding more relaxed. Instead of the apocalypse, the darker songs on the album evoke a rainy day. And that’s even broken up somewhat. The second half of the album is considerably lighter in mood than the first half.

The final element that must be mentioned is length. At approximately 38 minutes, “The King of Limbs” is Radiohead’s shortest album to date. Where albums like “OK Computer” and “Kid A” took multiple routes to their final destination, “King of Limbs” follows a single progression.

Regardless of what the critical consensus ends up being for “The King of Limbs,” it is difficult to deny that this is a new direction for one of the most closely watched band in the world.