Radiohead: In Rainbows – First Impressions

By: Charbarred | in: Music |

Radiohead - In Rainbows

I’d hate to call this a review as I believe Radiohead music should be enjoyed over a long period of time, possibly driving through vast landscapes or sprawled out on you sofa with your eyes closed. You have to take in all the nuances before you can really pass judgment. So here are my first impressions, track by track.

The album kicks off with the oh so familiar electronic clicks and beeps we’ve grown accustomed to with previous Radiohead offerings. While electronic sounds tend to get dated faster than a carton of milk, Radiohead have a tendency to make them immortal. “15 Step”, the album opener, builds up gradually into a mini explosion which pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the album.

“Bodysnatchers”, the second track brings back the guitars reminding us this is not a Thom Yorke solo album. It also breaks up the monotony and progresses well into an anthemic ending. The album advances into the beautiful bassy “Nude” which is as good as any Radiohead ballad (if you can call it that).

The atmospheric cool beat and guitars of “Weird Fishes / Arpeggi” bring you down slightly as Yorke sings “I get eaten by the worms”. “All I Need”, continues to immerse you in its groove and build and makes way for the most surprising track of the album.

When I heard that Thom Yorke was releasing a solo album last year I immediately imagined him picking up an acoustic guitar and writing actual songs (you know, like he used to do in the days of old). Yorke chose to go the avant-garde, minimal way and produced an incredible album that does everything but sound like a singer songwriter album. That’s where “Faust Arp” comes in. Yorke counts in as an acoustic guitar starts backing him up. He sings, and low and behold, actual chord changes occur while synthesized strings accompany the song beautifully. My only complaint, the song is too short.

Radiohead: Faust Arp

The album picks up with “Reckoner” which delivers beautiful guitars and harmonies. “House of Cards” is an atmospheric tune backed by rich sound textures and angular guitars. It’s also one of the stand-out tracks.

“Jigsaw Falling”, an up tempo affair which takes Yorke from low rants to wild wails is an amazing tune which starts off with Sonic Youth-y guitars and goes into something completely different.

The album closes with the piano lead “Videotape” another well written tune which reminds us all why Thom Yorke is one of the best vocalists in the world.

Some would probably bitch about the download arriving 160kbps format. I was personally surprised to find out that the other half of the album will only be delivered in December to those who have purchased the 40 pound package. But who cares, with such extraordinary music, I’ll leave the bitching to the other bloggers.

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Posted on October 10, 2007

Comments

5 Responses to “Radiohead: In Rainbows – First Impressions”

SharkyX on October 11th, 2007 12:38 am

This is a extraordinary album. 10/10

RustyCat on October 11th, 2007 12:39 am

IO haven’t made up my mind yet. It didn’t blow my mind at first listen but I have to give it a few more listens as I am a huge Radiohead fan..

MG Siegler on October 11th, 2007 2:40 am

Completely agree - it gets better with each listen. “All I Need” is haunting me, I cannot stop listening to it.

Kendall on October 11th, 2007 5:02 am

My weigh in is that I loved Kid A, but the whole overuse of electronics from that album on started to get old to me. I realize there is still a lot of use computers, but there are more natural instruments to hold me attention. Cheers to Radiohead for putting out a better album than the last few attempts.

Asaf on October 12th, 2007 4:09 pm

Thanks for an enlightening review.

I haven’t even had a chance to listen to the album. They haven’t sent me the activation email and my begging replies to the first email fell on deaf ears