Features Retrospectives: Radiohead - The King Of Limbs

My extreme lack of judgement could be put down to several factors, though listing these would be a weak tactic; a spineless attempt to escape all blame. The truth is, one particular 2011 release left me carried away, caught up in a manic application of hyperbole to an album that - and this should have made me rethink things at the time - clearly wasn’t impressing other people nearly as much. Radiohead, who rank as one of my favourite bands, rush-released their eighth record and within minutes I was locked away in my room, repeating every one of the work’s songs until they lost all meaning. Racking up a miniscule 70 plays in a mere three days, I then felt prepared to write my ‘The King of Limbs’ review for DIY.

The album received a rare 9 out of 10. 1 digit away from perfection. I’ve been writing album reviews for four years and granted, this might not be my first instance of over-excitement, but I’ve a sneaky feeling that it might be the last.

In my piece, I scoffed at the rare psychology of needy Radiohead fans and their desire for a ‘King of Limbs Pt. II’ and yet, without revealing it at the time, I was just beginning to feel the first initial tinges of disappointment at the release I was reviewing. A good few weeks after hitting “submit”and pushing through the 9/10 rating, disappointment morphed into despair, then emptiness, then acceptance. And now, quote by quote, I’m just about prepared to reassess - not necessarily retract - my initial wooed-up opinions.

“Technically, melodically, structurally, it can’t be bettered.” I’d still attest that ‘Bloom’ is one step away from being the perfect album opener. Odd production leads it to feeling at times scattered and half-finished but for the most part, the soaring strings and sense of release have me fascinated. But then comes ‘Little By Little’’s awkward and notably basic drum patterns. ‘Separator’, too, is a song almost intent on hiding an irrefutably good melody amongst clattering drums and a dominant bassline. Structurally, there’s still an undeniably tidy line drawn between the album’s abstract and experimental first half and a sweet closing quad of more sombre efforts. So the above is a slight overstatement, though not a gross one.

“Far more pleasurable and pure than anything else in the group’s back catalogue.” ‘The Bends’ always will be the purest of Radiohead’s albums; an extraordinary release of genuine adrenaline. ‘The King of Limbs’ is actually quite obtuse and uncomfortable, purposefully so when you consider ‘Feral’ in particular. Other albums such as ‘Kid A’ and ‘In Rainbows’ are far more coherent - perhaps only ‘Hail to the Thief’ pales in comparison when it comes to unearthing a rich, flowing listen.

“An affirmation of the glory this band has achieved throughout their tenure.” This phrase - or something of a similar effect - will be thrown around by many a reviewer when it comes to the band’s future releases, that is unless Radiohead manage to unleash yet another remarkable album, against the odds. ‘The King of Limbs’’ strength is that it shows a band no longer caught up in a web of indecision, far from preoccupied with caring about what others might think about an eight-track record or an album with only one or two obvious singles. At the same time, with the exception of ‘Pablo Honey’, it’s the album least likely to be cited in history as a landmark work. You can only really foresee the band continuing to experiment with releases, as well as with their overall sound. Thus chance of them throwing up another spectacular album is thin on the ground.

Perhaps I’m still in denial. I’m far from standing in the This Is Terrible camp in regards to ‘The King of Limbs’, though there’s no denying that the thrill of such a quick release gave me a judgement-altering high. Like ‘In Rainbows’, it was an album that side-stepped press releases, build-up, detailed reviews, before I hit play. Unlike ‘In Rainbows’, it has no lasting factor and doesn’t maintain its initial glow like most Radiohead albums succeed in doing.