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Radiohead ventures boldly (and
successfully) into new, emotional territory
In Rainbows is available, for
now, only on the Web
By Jon Jacobs
October 15, 2007 | The year is 2003; Radiohead has
just released its sixth full-length album Hail to
the Thief. Critical acclaim ensues. The album,
following the semi-difficult listener Amnesic,
is being heralded as a brilliant return to form, and
noted as the only Radiohead album that seems conscious
of the band's previous work.
After an extensive tour in support of the album, the
band makes a sudden statement announcing a hiatus. Cogitations
of joy by Radiohead fans do not ensue.
Fast-forward to 2007, and Radiohead has been recording
for more than two years, the longest studio session
the band has ever embarked upon. This, in conjunction
with the complete lack of a label and subsequently a
deadline, wreaks havoc upon eager Radiohead fans awaiting
the first glimpses of new material in more than four
years. Times are trying for fans, and the likelihood
of the album ever seeing the light of day seems distant
and incomprehensible.
However, on Oct. 10 Radiohead released the eagerly
anticipated In Rainbows as a digital download
on its website for the mere price of "what you think
it is worth," with an $80 disc box being released later
this year.
Upon first impressions, the album certainly feels
like Radiohead at its smartest. The exceptionally digital
opener 15 Step feels like a lost daughter of
the Hail to the Thief sessions.
After seven years of waiting, after seven years of
wondering where arguably the most influential band of
the modern age would go next, Radiohead does not disappoint.
Yet, amid the enthralling riffs and studio trickery
of longtime producer Nigel Godrich, there is something
substantively different about these new tracks -- something
distant, ethereal and even revelatory. The album is
drony and bass-heavy, but not dissonant and alienated
as 2000's brilliantly conceptual Kid A. The
lyrics are haunting, personal and emotive, but not in
the socio-political manner of Ok Computer or
the depressive introspection of The Bends.
As the album unfolds, there is an ever-present feeling
of immediacy, and yet despite this the album never brings
discomfort or uneasiness. It echoes with majesty, connecting
effortlessly with the listener with a faint amity of
familiarity. Singer Thom Yorke's volatile voice suspends
itself seamlessly over the layers of instrumentation
on tracks such as the distant, atmospheric ballad Nude
and the subtle guitar and string-driven Faust Arp.
Radiohead's ability to craft delicate and yet driving
material is in top-form.
The true genius of Rainbows however reveals
itself in the new lyrical and sonic direction of its
slower tracks. The surprisingly minimalistic, yet deeply
emotive All I Need finds Yorke's fragile voice
barely surfacing over the ocean of pneumatic soundscapes
and bass. Yorke's obvious pain is illustrated as he
sings in a near-whisper, almost pleading, "I am a moth
who just wants to share your light. I'm just an insect
trying to get out of the night. You are all I need.
You are all I need. I'm in the middle of your picture
lying in the reeds."
The inception of love songs by Radiohead is not the
only surprise from Rainbows, as the album explores
the more subtle aspects of the band's musical ventures.
And because of the band members' prowess as musicians,
the result is that the album doesn't so much play as
float from your stereo. The guitar and keyboard parts
feel intimately close and personal, yet sound as though
they are being played in deep space, echoing toward
infinity.
This subtlety, though unusual upon first discovery,
showcases Radiohead's confidence and creates an album
that is both painfully personal and sonically aesthetic.
The album's tracks to not blend together as with albums
such as Kid A and Amnesiac, but rather
uses motif and composition to flow with a harmonious
tranquility.
The album closes with one of the most eerie and haunting
tracks Radiohead has ever produced, the emotionally
captivating Videotape. The track, comprised
of spine-chilling piano hovered over ambiant electronic
drums, feels brittle and frail, as if Yorke's voice
might give out at any moment, succumbing to whatever
personal demons he is facing. He finishes the song by
singing, with heart-breaking submission, "No matter
what happens now, you shouldn't be afraid. Because I
know today has been the most perfect day I've ever seen."
On the whole, In Rainbows is a potentially
difficult album to understand, as it lacks the raw drive
of their early work, as well as the vastly experimental
nature of their late material. However, the album unfolds
with some of the best and most rewarding material Radiohead
has produced, to date. It is an emotional magnum opus,
akin to Radiohead at their very finest, and at times
surpasses any expectation of their ingenuity.
It may have taken four years, but Radiohead have crafted
an achingly beautiful masterpiece.
MS
MS
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