radiohead-inrainbows music reviews Virgin Media
The long overdue return of one the UK's most fascinating bands finds them on mellow, accessible form
Thanks to the band's forward-thinking decision to offer fans the chance to pay as much or as little as they want for this new album, their seventh, press coverage has ensured that - Radiohead fan or not - you'll be well aware of their return. Four years have elapsed since their last LP, Hail To The Thief, and while the band have maintained a steady presence amongst fans with live performances (including a headlining slot at 2006's V Festival), solo work (most notably Yorke's The Eraser) and blog updates, it marks their longest ever break between albums.
While Hail To The Thief had an undercurrent of disaffection and menace (evidenced in song titles like We Suck Young Blood and A Wolf At The Door), In Rainbows is a markedly dreamier, more mellow affair. Lush reverb, chiming guitars and gentle beats take centre stage on tracks like opener 15 Step, the beautiful, spine-tingling Nude (a song which has been floating around since OK Computer days) and Faust Arp, which combines delicate acoustic guitar with a sumptuous string arrangement.
Rockier moments are few and far between; the buzzing bass of Bodysnatchers has echoes of Kid A's The National Anthem, but that's as heavy as In Rainbows really gets. Likewise, and as with Hail To The Thief, the band's use of electronic beats has receded - the stark, processed percussion of the kind found on Packt Like Sardines… or Idioteque rarely appears here.
On first listen In Rainbows appears considerably more accessible than their previous two albums (Yorke even sings "I don't wanna be your friend, I just wanna be your lover" on House Of Cards); despite the method of release, this is certainly not profoundly experimental, commercially unviable material. Time will ultimately tell how the critics and fans react, but to this reviewer's ears In Rainbows contains some of the band's finest work since Kid A and OK Computer, and with a "name your own price" tag it's an irresistible package.
