Radiohead - The King of Limbs
It's difficult to write about The King of Limbs without starting with why it's sitting at number 21 when all their other recent albums were significantly higher up my lists.
So, the loose and simplified tale of Radiohead's 2000-on career path as I see it: Kid A and Amnesiac made a statement that they could, and would, now do something really different from anything they had before. Hail to the Thief said that they could continue with that alongside more traditional songs, but had an awkward fit between the two. In Rainbows lacked the highest highs of any of those three but finally managed to reconcile the new and old and was their most consistent record in songwriting, sound and quality since OK Computer.
The King of Limbs is a weird step back, built on much the same sounds and atmosphere as In Rainbows but without the songs. 'There are no songs' was a futile protest at Kid A, not only because it frequently wasn't true, but because where it was true it was pretty much the point. The King of Limbs is the first time it feels like a valid complaint, because they've already shown that they can write catchy and moving songs that sound like it! "Morning Mr. Magpie" has been around unreleased for quite a while but does make you wonder whether this was deliberate or at least something they're aware of - it's difficult not to read into its wry final lines 'now you've stolen all my magic/took my melody'.
Negatives out of the way, The King of Limbs is a really very gorgeous album, something to sink into and explore and which for its similarities does still sound very fresh. And at its brief length every song counts, as it has to.
"Bloom" with its loping rhythms, Thom and the universe sighing over the top, pulling itself into an amazing swirl of strings and brass sounds before retreating into the forest with whispers all around. Jittery "Morning Mr Magpie" which starts from the none-more-Radiohead opening taunt 'You got some nerve/Coming here' and goes from there. The twisted groove of "Little By Little" existing in uneasy but compelling harmony with a delicate melody. "Feral" and its journey into the dark unknown.
Then the second half (and this is an album with a very obvious split in two) when things open up. There is still a wealth of details but what melodies there are are less crowded in, given more room to breathe. "Lotus Flower" taking the shuddering beats of "Idioteque" and setting them to something as pretty as it as panicky. The embracing serenity of both "Codex" and "Give Up The Ghost", one hopeful and one hopeless. The twinkling and elegiac parting gesture of "Separator".
Plus they did give rise to one of 2011's better memes.
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