Radiohead - The King of Limbs

They're baaaaaaaaaack...renowned English quintet Radiohead dropped their eighth studio album last week, almost completely by surprise. Sure, there had been talk of the band being in the studio, various random singles released between In Rainbows and now, but Thom Yorke and Co. still managed to catch everyone off-guard by announcing The King of Limbs less than a week before its release.

I suppose it would be wrong of me not to fully disclose my love for Radiohead before writing this review. After all, being my favorite band, there is obviously going to be some bias here. If I give it a good score, it's going to be taken as fanboyism, and if I give it a bad score, you might just say it simply didn't reach my lofty expectations. (Side note: If you haven't put on a good pair of headphones, lain in bed, and given Kid A an attentive, zero interruption listen, stop reading this and do that right now.) That being said, I will try to review this record as neutrally as possible, but I'll let you know now, it is damn good.

The King of Limbs is pretty much an amalgamation of everything Radiohead has done since the Kid A days, yet it is unique in its own right. The band has continued to craft its unique blend of haunting electronics and driving rock, but the difference here is that this record is groovy in places, something that we don't see from them often ("I Might Be Wrong" and "Where I End and You Begin" are the only examples that come to mind immediately). But while those moments were just changes of pace on their respective albums, groove is a real theme on this latest record. The driving drums and great guitar/bass lines in "Little by Little," "Lotus Flower," and the awesome "Separator" really showcase the band's ability to make you get up and dance a little. (And don't we all wish we could dance like Thom Yorke in the Lotus Flower video?) "Separator" in particular continues a trend of incredible album closers for Radiohead; they seem to have this knack for ending their records on exactly the right note. The Jonny Greenwood guitar riff that jumps in about halfway through the song is just glorious. I have a feeling that Separator will end up being one of my very favorite RH songs.

Not that the album is without its abstract moments and its pretty ones. "Codex" really invokes memories of "Pyramid Song," while "Give Up The Ghost" might be the most starkly pretty song the band has ever written. Opener "Bloom" is the most Kid A-esque, with a jumpy beat and processed Yorke vocals soaring above the whole affair. Oh yeah, Thom Yorke has still got it folks. His vocals carry the entire album, but especially shine on "Give Up The Ghost."

Really I only have two complaints, and one is just a mark of the strength of this record. Midpoint "Feral" is a little weak, it feels like it was supposed to be an instrumental break in the vein of "Treefingers" but it doesn't have the same effect. Also, the album feels too short, like the ideas explored weren't fleshed out as fully as they could have been. I have hope that this isn't the last we'll hear from Radiohead this year, though. As Yorke so sweetly croons on "Separator," "If you think this is over, you're wrong." 4.7/5.

A music-related thought I thought I'd share

Recently I've been listening to a lot of stuff that I loved a year or two ago and fell out of loving. Maybe I latched onto something else, maybe I overplayed it, who knows. The thing that occurred to me as I listened to mewithoutYou's magnum opus Brother, Sister, was that music is simultaneously living and static. It breathes life into a dead and tired brain, yet it is always the same, consistently providing the same comfort, entertainment, and food for thought as it did the first time it was listened to.

This is interesting in a couple ways; first, music provides a base that you can always trust and come back to. The notes never change, and to me music gives a sense of order to my life. At the same time though, having a large variety of options helps me to not stay in a rut and keep life interesting. (I suppose to make this whole thing make sense it would help y'all to know that I am listening to some sort of music probably 8+ hours a day.)

Another thing this made me consider is that since music remains static, our perceptions of it are ever-changing. Sometimes I'm just not feeling an album one day, but the next day I listen to it again and it's like being reborn. Music is alive in this sense just like your friends. One day they can bother and annoy you, and the next day you want nothing more than to talk to them for hours on end.

Cut Copy - Zonoscope

Sleep-deprived review coming up so ignore any typos or sentences that don't make sense.

Australian synth-pop group Cut Copy have been making folks (like me!) get up and dance since 2004, but they've only really been in the limelight since 2008's wildly popular and successful In Ghost Colours. That album featured a seamless flow of impossibly catchy dance tunes the likes of which hadn't been seen since Daft Punk's Discovery. The undeniably infectious tunes have even broken through the indie/mainstream wall, I heard 'Lights and Music' being played at Easton last time I was there. When they announced a follow-up, it seemed impossible that the greatness of In Ghost Colours could be duplicated. Well, it may be impossible, but 2011's Zonoscope is definitely an admirable effort.

Much like IGC, Zonoscope begins with a flurry of instant-favorite songs, with relatively mellow 'Need You Now' setting the stage for the bouncy 'Take Me Over' and the interestingly different 'Where I'm Going.' The former is pretty standard Cut Copy material, but the latter dumps the synths and catchy vocal choruses for a vaguely bluesy beat and chanted 'yeah!'s. It's a fairly drastic change in style for a pretty consistent band, and while the song stands out well on its own, the flow of the record is somewhat disrupted by it. After that detour into new territory, the synths kick back in on Pharaohs and Pyramids and everyone can start dancing again.

The remainder of Zonoscope sees the band continue to stick true to their guns, pumping out the kinds of songs that made them who they are. Unfortunately, the 15 minute final track, 'Sun God,' is a bit overbloated and doesn't really have enough ideas to warrant its length. All in all though, Zonoscope is a solid third album from a band that I've come to expect good things from. 3.8/5.

Choice Tracks

Take Me Over: http://theneedledrop.com/?p=1954

Blink And You'll Miss A Revolution: No Youtube link yet:(

Pharaohs and Pyramids: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqPEW2OVxyA