Radiohead dropped a much-appreciated bomb at the beginning of last week when the band announced it would release its new album Saturday. The move was nothing short of surprising considering no one knew the album was even finished. Never satisfied with sticking to the rule book, Thom Yorke and company gave the world an added bonus Friday morning, announcing the album would be released then instead of the next day. Fans could instantly download The King of Limbs, Radiohead's eighth studio album, and they did, of course, leaving the Internet to spend the weekend buzzing about the band's continued boldness.
Not only is Radiohead my favorite band musically, but their audacity is a breath of fresh air amid the progressively dwindling mainstream music industry. As if the band — which has one of the most loyal fan bases in music today — needed to top its inventive pay-what-you-want deal in 2007 for In Rainbows, throwing an album out unprecedentedly in the course of five days is sure to revive the buzz that commonly surrounds the band's every move.
At only eight tracks and less than 40 minutes, Limbs is delightful, playing on the band's sleekest sounds. The majority of the album is fairly mellow, but "Little by Little" and the closing track "Separator" break into dance vibes that interact nicely with Yorke's melodic scanting. The entire album feels like a mature compilation of Radiohead's brightest moments.
To some, it may be easily forgotten. But to others, its soft, jazzy feel will make it all the more beautiful. The group plays more on the soulful sounds of Rainbows than the slightly harder tones of previous entries like OK Computer and The Bends, and it works to the band's advantage as the album glides from track to track effortlessly.
Radiohead has previously never been satisfied with playing their musical game by the numbers, and luckily for the mass of fans who follow the group's every move, their ambition is appreciated.
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