Following the landmark independent digital release of Radioheads seventh LP whereby customers could name their own price, the experimental British rock stalwarts finally issued In Rainbows in its physical formats. Musically, this release can be seen as a logical culmination of much of the bandsprevious work, incorporating the avant-garde electronics oflater records and more traditional guitar-heavy elements synonymous with their inception. The overt political themes ofprevious album Hail To The Thief are largely jettisoned for an altogether more romantic milieu, with songs such as Videotape and Nude showcasing the intimate nature of singer Thom Yorkes voice.
After 15 years of continual, radical transformation, Radiohead found themselves with time, freedom and acquired wisdom. In Rainbows is the result years of jumping into the unknown and pushing one another’s creativity.
From the crunching, fluttering drum machine intro to the opening track 15 Steps it was clear it was a fully fledged Radiohead classic. As 15 Steps transitions from an electro beat to a full band number, the currents drag you deep into Radiohead’s idiosyncrasies, by the time Bodysnatchers hits (and it doesn’t half hit) nothing else seems to matter but the burnt out kraut hook and Yorke’s pained whines.
Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi and Reckoner both appear to be the odd cousins of John Fruscianti’s California funk, in which both the drums are mixed high, giving your heart something to worry about. The solitary moments with Thom Yorke on the backwardly twisted Nude, the serene Faust Arp and Videotape that dooms us all, turning the screw on our human psyche. At times it’s hard not wince in familiarity yet he is not wallowing in self-pity, he is human and articulate and unfortunately for us, we know where he’s coming from.
Previous experiments bleed all over the album, warped electronics, brazen hooks and maudlin melodies while Yorke turns the screw on the human psyche. In Rainbows is Radiohead’s perfect form. The jigsaw falling into place.
