IN RAINBOWS

Radiohead

Crossover Prog

3.83 | 640 ratings

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Rune2000
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

I must have completely fallen out of touch with Radiohead since it has been three years since the release of In Rainbows and I'm still struggling to understand its appeal!

I tend to get a sense of a thick layer of emptiness whenever I try listening to this release. But then I read all of those in-depth reviews of In Rainbows where each song is broken down into the smallest components and, truth to be told, I just don't hear it. It's in this moment of pure frustration that I start questioning whether I have completely lost my touch or if I've actually managed to see beyond the Emperor's new clothes. Whichever the case is, none of its outcomes makes me much happier since it doesn't make me appreciate the music any differently.

What I'm basically hearing is a minimalistic approach to the Radiohead style that I've come to love in the past but every time the band gets close to arranging an interesting twist to any of these songs, they really seem to go out of their way in order to avoid playing anything resembling a song here. On top of that, I find that Thom Yorke's performance is almost non existent. Don't get me wrong, he is definitely on this album but I just don't see him being that prominent frontman that we all recall from Radiohead's past.

If I remember correctly, Radiohead did state that Hail To The Thief would be the last Radiohead (as we know them) album and that the next release would sound totally different. Even though I had my doubts about it in the past, it's now safe to say that with the release of In Rainbows, the band had fulfilled their promise!

**** star songs: 15 Step (3:57) Nude (4:15) Faust Arp (2:09) Reckoner (4:50) Jigsaw Falling Into Place (4:08)

*** star songs: Bodysnatchers (4:02) Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (5:18) All I Need (3:48) House Of Cards (5:28) Videotape (4:39)

Rune2000 | 2/5 | 2010-10-19

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