Mystery is a beautiful device, a device that demands excitement and thought, yet the absence of clarity in society is rarely seen as the need for answers is so desperate. This is seen in many forms of media; the newspapers constantly speculate until the answers reveal themselves, television programmes rarely leave a mystery unsolved and music naturally holds no mystery; the majority of bands all have so much to say about their music, often the listener knows what to expect before the album is released.
Radiohead however, love a mystery. Throughout their long and ever changing career, there music/artwork combinations have often baffled fans and critics alike – from the bizarre computer voice samples on ‘Ok Computer’ to the booklet neatly hidden underneath the track listings on Kid A, revealing many future lyrics and cryptic lists. King of Limbs is no different in the way the album has been released and presented. Ed O Brien before the release of the record said the band were looking to move away from the standard CD/Vinyl/Download release – the band famously released ‘In Rainbows’ in 2007 as a Digital Download where the listener could pay what they could afford. What could the band do next? Surprisingly, they did something completely different again.
The King Of Limbs was released in February, 8 tracks at just under 38 minutes; the band leaving nothing but a picture on their website saying ‘Thank You For Waiting’ – No press, No interviews; Just a creepy looking beast with a link to buy the album as either a download or the full ‘Newspaper album’. Obviously, being a Radiohead Fanatic, I was intrigued by the newspaper album option and snapped it up immediately, downloading the album in turn.
Initially the album struck me as a slightly difficult listen – the beats in Bloom, which kicks off the album, left me rather unsettled. Good Morning Mr Magpie and Feral also sounding slightly weary attempts to be different again. Perhaps, after the very accessible ‘In Rainbows’ record, it was meant to catch people off guard, a lot of the talk before the ‘TKOL’ was that the band had gone back to their ‘The Bends’ sound. Thankfully, they didn’t as the record grows into something quite magnificent.
Having had time to digest the record, read the two newspapers and visit the website that accompanied the first newspaper ‘The Universal Sigh’, it is clear that once again Radiohead have released a project that is completely unique and interesting.
Starting with the record, the opener Bloom once settled into your life is a perfect way to begin the journey. It takes an ambient route with a bass groove that captures the soul. Yorke’s vocals swirl and haunt, gone are the ‘Kid A/Amnesiac’ days where he doubted his voice – this album celebrates how good a vocalist he is. Lotus flower, the first and to date only single off TKOL is again another example of this. A sensational build up with the bass leading the track, hand claps echo around the intense electronica and the drums enter with odd yet sensible rhythm. Lotus flower also indicates a changing point in the record and sees the album ‘slowly unfurl’; the first five tracks are all lead by groove, a gradual build up and intense percussion yet with an underlying relaxation; many of previous Radiohead releases hold a menace, but this record is essentially the closest to a ‘chill out’ album they will probably ever release, the depth in the songs are just beyond. The last three tracks off the album see the band enter almost a dreamscape setting, the tempo slows down. Codex is a beautiful piano lead track – a really soothing and thoughtful track and it exhibits what Radiohead do best, the music separates the listener from reality for a while. The ability to join the world where ‘the water is clear and innocent’, the track is exactly why Radiohead are different from other bands – because there is a level of hope and emotion in the songs. ‘Give up the Ghost’ takes off where ‘Codex’ leaves off, with bird song and a folky guitar riff, it is just wonderfully crafted. The important thing to remember is that whilst a lot of Radiohead fans want to see more of Johnny Greenwood slamming out riffs on his guitar, his subtle work is absolutely astounding; every guitar riff/piano note that is included in this album has a purpose and adds a different layer. An example of this is in album closer ‘Separator’ where the guitar builds up and twinkles along with the track. ‘Seperator’ is a highlight for me, the way the song is crafted is perfect and as album closers go, it is one of the best since, well, Street Spirit (Fade out) on ‘The Bends’. The song ends with the lyrics ‘If you think this is over, then you’re wrong’ and there is some truth in this statement, but not another album as many websites had wrongly predicted.
The record – is just part one of the king of limbs, the newspapers that accompany the record are what makes this whole project feel special and different. The newspapers are full of literature from short stories to articles, artwork, lyrics and cryptic lists. The first paper ‘The universal sigh’ was released on newsstands across the world in April, with the recipients being asked to take a photo of themselves with the newspaper and to send the photos into the website. This interests me, as it seems Radiohead are exploring the avenues of making the king of limbs record not only a musical project but also an artistic/social venture, a worldwide project. The art work in the actual newspaper is like the tempo/feel of the album in that it starts off very bright and up-tempo and then slows down into darker colours and drifts off. The newspaper is like a portfolio in the way it is set out, a piece of art created by both Yorke and Stanley Donwood that is set to compliment the record yet also ask questions to how the listener interprets the record. There is a true sense of the record being linked with nature, that can’t be avoided with the album being named after a tree and many of the pieces of literature being linked with forestry/preservation. The lists remain elusive, babble maybe? Future lyrics? Poems? They make for interesting reading though and fans of random things like this will be pleasantly surprised. The King of limbs appears to have many branches and avenues, only recently 2 B sides have been sent out to people who have bought the record on the website – so who knows, the project could keep expanding and expanding, but who knows? The bands are a mystery and long may it stay that way.
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