Thoughts onRadiohead: In Rainbows

Talent is a fickle, unpredictable, even reckless phenomenon. It defies expectations and is notoriously unreliable. It's no wonder, then, that the MBAs and liquor executives running the music industry want nothing to do with it. Their existing business model, one of extending what are basically bad bank loans to trust fund kids schooled in formulaic songwriting and anemic production, has had an unwittingly bad effect on their bottom line and an even worse effect on the state of popular music.

Enter Oxford's Radiohead, a band let loose in the halls of the music industry like a greased pig in a frat house. Ever since resisting coronation as the "New U2" in the wake of OK Computer, Radiohead have been causing industry hacks stress and worry: one anecdote goes that upon hearing "Kid A", Capitol immediately canceled the Christmas bonuses of their employees. It's only fitting that Thom Yorke and co. would be the ones to put the knife in the back of an industry only (15) steps away from being completely morally, creatively, and financially bankrupt: The band's novel strategy of treating album distribution like a roadside fruit stand has turned popular music on its head.

All of which would be meaningless, of course, if the album weren't brilliant. Not to worry: it is. Sonically speaking, the band has moved into uncharted territory. While last album "Hail to the Thief" undeniably had its moments, it was hard not to see it as Radiohead losing a step. Trapped between the big guitar drama of "OK Computer" and the electronic excursions of "Kid A", it was unfocused and over-long. The wide shots of a band known for its cinematic sound started to feel cliche and predictable.

Thank God, then, for the tight shots and close-ups of "In Rainbows". Whereas once Thom used to sound like he was singing to you from the other side of an indoor pool, now it's as if he's seated right across the table from you. The drums sound like drum machines; the guitars are immediate and decidedly indulgence-free. Radiohead have gone and made an album that's more futuristic R&B than Sturm und Drang, more Timbaland than Buckley.

"Weird Fishes/Arpeggi", the album's central track, floats along on a bed of hypnotic guitars and crisp drums. Eschewing the sparkling guitar outro of recent live versions, the band take a sharp detour, stripping the song down to drums, some disorienting sound effects, and an incredibly ominous bassline by Colin Greenwood that disturbs and enthralls at the same time.

Similarly surprising is "Reckoner", which surely bears no resemblance to the other Radiohead song of that name and lifts the drum beat from DJ Shadow/Unkle's "Unreal" to form a blissed-out ballad replete with soulful guitar. And you know you're in for a treat when "15 Step"'s burst of handclaps and children's voices starts the record, like "Backdrifts" with a sense of humor, or when "All I Need" more closely resembles the remix of Method Man/Mary J Blige's "You're All I Need to Get By" than The Beatles' "All You Need is Love".

One of the most interesting developments on "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" was the way in which the band learned to be so economical in their use of instruments: every piece of the arrangement played a distinct role. One example of this is "Like Spinning Plates", the sparse cymbal hits of which stand as one of Phil Selway's most evocative performances. The band got away from this on "HTTT" (see: laserbeams) and the record suffered as a result. "In Rainbows" benefits from an overall more minimalist approach: it's difficult to imagine Chris Martin having the courage to write something so deceptively simple as "Jigsaw Falling into Place" or "House of Cards".

The fallout from this record should be as interesting as the record itself. Has it truly revolutionized the recording industry, or just created a new promotional tool? Will said industry learn from this experiment, or attempt to kill the messenger? (witness the recent swiftboating of the band by MTV for giving away MP3s of a higher bitrate than almost all of the music found on iTunes). No matter what the result, with a record like this to show for their efforts, Radiohead, a fickle, unpredictable, even reckless group, have almost singlehandedly made popular music interesting again. "It's the 21st Century," Thom sings on "Bodysnatchers". And now that century has its first great album.

Verdict: 10 out of 10

Listen to "Bodysnatchers":

[Download the MP3 Here]
[Buy the Record/Band Website]