Radiohead’s ‘Limbs’ latches onto definitive sound

Radiohead

The King of Limbs

XL Recordings

Rocks Like: Radiohead at its most… Radiohead

The King of Limbs

XL Recordings

Rocks Like: Radiohead at its most confident

Grade: A-

With the 2007 release of In Rainbows, Radiohead seemed to be approaching a halt in its decade-long quest for music innovation. Whereas every prior album seemed like an attempt to reinvent its predecessor, In Rainbows showed a band finally satisfied with its sound. Its latest album, The King of Limbs, sounds like the final culmination of nearly two decades of genre-bending music.

This isn’t an indication that Limbs — released last Friday online and set to ship in physical form on May 9 — is some sort of farewell record for the band, but instead a sign that Radiohead is closing in on its creative goals. The album’s opener, “Bloom,” features a healthy mix of OK Computer-style production and classically rhythmic piano melodies. Thom Yorke’s iconic voice swoons over the jazz-infused trumpets and deep piano keys. Like so many of Radiohead’s songs, “Bloom” is full of trepid anticipation. Yorke’s characteristic mumble can be heard delivering lines like, “So why does this still hurt / Don’t blow your mind with why,” over the minimalist song structure.

For a band that has existed for more than a decade, Radiohead is remarkably adept at making its music sound fresh. One of the most striking moments on the album comes in the track “Feral,” which seems to be an interlude full of experimentation in contemporary electronic-music trends, featuring hints of dubstep and European house music. This comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with Yorke’s solo effort The Eraser, in which the frontman relentlessly flexes his electronic muscles.

In many ways, The King of Limbs doesn’t sound much different from In Rainbows, but in the moments when the albums’ differences are pronounced — the heavily melodic and acoustic “Give up the Ghost,” for instance — it becomes apparent why Radiohead never seems to disappoint.

The video for the single “Lotus Flower” exemplifies everything that is right about the new album. In Yorke’s seemingly ridiculous and spastic dance-moves, there is a certain confidence — a confidence readily apparent in The King of Limbs, and the reason for Radiohead’s untouchable status in music.