THE KING OF LIMBS

Despite the 3-star rating I'm giving this album (3 and a half, really), it is IMO more interesting than IN RAINBOWS, which I felt was very good but over-rated (and not nearly as interesting as Thom Yorke's solo release, THE ERASER). I'm a huge Radiohead fan, and consider OK COMPUTER and KID A/AMNESIAC to be the apex of their career. Since then, they've continued to make very good albums, each album containing some masterpieces (HAIL TO THE THIEF has a bunch, IN RAINBOWS has far fewer, IMO, although "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" has to be one of their greatest songs). However, I don't believe they've made a great *album* since those releases.

While most seem to wish Radiohead would go back to being a guitar band, I find their electronic work to be much more compelling, and must more forward-thinking. IN RAINBOWS was embraced as a semi-return to the rock format, and perhaps that's one reason why I found it less interesting than THE ERASER. Radiohead's newest album, KING OF LIMBS, finds them entering the world of dubstep, and the results are pretty interesting. Now, this is by no means a supreme masterpiece along the lines of Burial's UNTRUE, but it's a nice direction for Radiohead to explore.

As much as I keep hoping, I'm not sure the future belongs to Radiohead anymore. They articulated their vision in a way that only the greatest bands get to do. In a way, their successive albums are extensions of this vision, adding to the oeuvre, so to speak. But it's unfair to expect anything more than that. One day, all of it will be considered important.

If you're already a Radiohead fan, then you will get this album, and will find reasons to love it. If you're not a fan, you probably won't get this one. If you want to know what dubstep, start out with Burial's UNTRUE, which many prog-lovers I suspect would absolutely love.