In Rainbows...A Review

(Meant to be read whilst listening along. And also reaaaaalllll fucking high on drugs.)


Track 1:

Track 2:
One of the most frenetic songs on the album, BodySnatchers gives a visceral punch right at the near start of the album, their first in 2 years (the longest break of their career). Released in an unprecedented manner, the band opted for what that they often do: authenticity and doing whatever the fuck they want. Call it authenticity, call it 'not selling out,' call it stupid; you can't call it a failure. This album will undoubtedly move 5 million units, even in this 'dead' album era.
Track 3: Nude
Is this the intro to a Beatle's film? I don't know, it seems to be self-indulgent to me. Ok, I'm digging the backbeat....ultimate trance beat, slowed down a million times and smoothed out by Greenwood's underappreciated drumming. This track shows a lot of complexity in its mellowness. The extended downtemp part, punctuated by a cymbal crash around 1:40, signals the start of a newer depth to the piece. Or maybe I'm just realllllll fucking high on drugs.
Track 4:
Silky smooth right from the start, Weird Fishes/Arpeggio is probably the best-crafted songs since "No Surprises." Affecting, haunting, yet never slow or lugubrious, it can't be conveyed beyond, "The shit just works." From the mournful, guitar dense atmosphere comes a bountiful undergrowth of sick drumming and Thom's ridiculously perfect pitch. The best 5:28 money can buy, heck, even worth the last :45.
Track 5: All I Need
Radiohead is like a fat woman at a buffet: once it gets going it ain't going to stop. Putting the piano to its full-effects, Thom pulls off a mozart-capable piano solo, transcending the mere 'rock' piano playing into a higher form, raising the whole genre up the 'art' category level. Trippy when it needs to be, mixed with a heavy flow and a heavy dose of awesome. No cowbell needed.
Track 6: Spare and staid at first, the violins, close-miked guitar and flawless mix (that are together a song unto themselves), moves at just the right pace to provide a comedown from "All I Need."
Track 7: Contrasting clearly against its predecessor, Reckoner does not disappoint, as the band continually incorporates new instruments and arrangements into its retinue.
Track 8: House of Cards
At turns majestic and haunting, the refrain of "Tonight/tonight" hints at something more to come, an expectation of greatness that can never be matched.
Track 9: Jigsaw falling into space
Downright snappy, this fast-paced song is nearly a toe-tapper. At times it reaches a rapid pace, but it never pushes the envelope, always keeping one fret before. BY the time the frenetic cavalcade of strings kicks in, this wall of strings rises to a triumphal finish, keeping the hand steady. The ultimate penultimate track.
Track 10: Absolutely slowed down, especially in light of the album, this track doesn't really seem to fit on an album wth such a heavy emphasis on the instruments and the right mix. Even with the crescendo rapidly approaching, one only sees a dull thud of an ending to what was a spectacularly alive and even reverential album. Completely re-worked from the version played at MSG on their mini-tour in 2006, one could convincingly argue that it is the worst song on the album. At best, it is a one-off show song, reminiscent of "OK Computer's" "Treefingers'"s'. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, it is a meager exclamation point for such a fantastic album. For the final track, only extreme emo fags and hardcore shoegazers may apply.


Final Rating: 5 out of 5 asian schoolgirls.