IN RAINBOWS

Radiohead

Crossover Prog

3.83 | 640 ratings

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thesameoldfears

"you reel me out and then you cut the string"

Let me start off my five-star review with a stipulation. "In Rainbows" is an unquestionable musical masterpiece, though perhaps not a "prog" masterpiece as some would define it. But don't get me wrong; Radiohead's overall nuanced playing and their experimental adventures from in the "Kid A/Amnesiac" period more than justify their inclusion on this site. "In Rainbows" may lack most of the qualities of prog rock, but Radiohead deserves a great deal of credit for taking their previous experimental sound, and incorporating it so convincingly in a pop music format. When heard in isolation, "In Rainbows" is merely a "nice"-sounding record, but when you hear it within the context of the rest of their recorded output, it becomes clear why the album is such an achievement. The things that we have come to love about Radiohead, the reverb-drenched guitars, the gorgeous string arrangements, the haunting vocals, the subtle use of uncommon keyboard instruments; all are still present here. But the music sounds less distant and more relatable than ever, which for some might be a bad thing (for me it initially was). Gone (unfortunately) are the dark political musings, but the words aren't throw-away either, and the singing sounds as emotionally-relevant as ever. One of my housemates listened to nothing "In Rainbows" for months and at first I thought "why is he listening to the poppy one?" but the album grew on me considerably, and before long I realized that there was as much subtlety in this disc as any other you will find. This is clearly a record made with the audience in mind, but without sacrificing Radiohead's artistic integrity.

(On a side note, try to find the "In the Basement" videos that show the band performing this album live.)

thesameoldfears | 5/5 | 2010-5-7

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