What does a band that’s been changing the landscape of popular music for a quarter of a century do when they set out to make a new album? Naturally, they look towards Northern European folklore for inspiration. “It's very much about natural forms,” artist Stanley Donwood said of his cover art for Radiohead’s new album. “There’s something about the northern European imagination … that’s come through into all of the work.”
And it’s true. Whereas Radiohead’s previous effort, 2007’s In Rainbows, focused on more user-friendly rock, The King of Limbs — with its expansive atmosphere, other-worldly chants by Thom Yorke and natural images and samples (there are birds chirping in at least three songs) — feels more like a contemplative spooky stroll through the woods.
But take note: The King of Limbs is not Radiohead’s musical rendition of Walden (I’m pretty sure Thoreau wasn’t a huge fan of dubstep minimalism, anyway). Processed loops and tribal beats courtesy of drummer Phil Selway abound, particularly on the first half of the album, and at times the band even gets a little funky, as on album closer “Separator.” The King of Limbs marks an exploration of the space between the natural and the structured, the instinctual and the carefully orchestrated.
Opening track “Bloom” sets the mood for the rest of the album with spacious echoes and Thom Yorke’s croon layered over scattered snare shots and staccato piano hiccups, which slowly cohere into a steady rhythm. In fact, as far as Radiohead albums go, The King of Limbs focuses pretty heavily on the rhythm section, which is probably what accounts for the albums swirling, moody feel.
“Lotus Flower,” the album’s first single, begins the more subdued second half of The King of Limbs. Its more traditional structure makes it one of the most accessible (not to mention best) tracks on the album. “Codex,” my personal favorite, places Yorke’s haunting vocal melody over a skeletal piano arrangement, imbuing the song with a tear-jerking sense of frailty and beauty. Then comes “Give Up The Ghost,” a gentle acoustic tune with layered vocals, reminiscent of Bon Iver, and lyrics about the loss of religion … I think. I can never really tell what Radiohead’s cryptic lyrics mean, and the words on The King of Limbs are as abstract as ever.
Ultimately, The King of Limbs is a very good album, but at times it seems like a safe move for the band, despite its experimentalism. On the whole, the album experiments with sounds and textures (successfully, I might add), but there just aren’t many surprises. The beats are often static, failing to take the imaginative turns that we’ve come to expect from the band. The King of Limbs just doesn’t seem to have the ground-breaking weight of previous Radiohead efforts. But hey, when an excellent album isn’t one of a band’s best, what does that say about the band?
Radiohead has always played with the public’s expectations; they released The King of Limbs a day early, a mere four days after the announcement of its release. So it’s no wonder that the short 37-minute run time of King of Limbs has led some fans to expect a possible second album as a complement to this one. I doubt it, but it’s hard not to imagine a glimmer in Thom Yorke’s eye when he closes the album with the repeated lyric: “If you think this is over, then you’re wrong.”
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