Radiohead

In Rainbows

The most heartening thing about In Rainbows, besides the fact that it may represent the strongest collection of songs Radiohead have assembled for a decade, is that it ventures into new emotional territories.

With sumptuous, enveloping production, fluid guitars soaked in reverb, and Yorke's voice at its most soulful, In Rainbows is Radiohead's leanest, warmest and most accessible record in a decade. 

It's true that we've come to expect a certain level of genius from this band, but when they actually exceed expectations, as they do here, it's a clear sign that Radiohead will continue to reinvent themselves and drop more jaws along the way.

The most pleasing thing about this Radiohead album is that it truly is a Radiohead album. It’s a band effort with instrumentation in its finest form from those who are refusing to sit in the background behind Thom Yorke.

It arrived by unconventional means, but it's their most conventional work in a decade. And their best.

Radiohead's sudden willingness to embrace their capacity for uncomplicated beauty might be In Rainbows' most distinguishing quality, and one of the primary reasons it's an improvement on Hail to the Thief.

This is still the Radiohead that finds straight-ahead pop structures gauche or just plain tired ... That said, In Rainbows takes tenuous steps back toward more straightforward territory, though with nothing as obvious as a verse-chorus-verse to speak of.

In Rainbows ... comes from a more composed place in their personal and musical pantheon, creating an unassuming but worthy addition to their revered discography.

To the casual listener ‘In Rainbows’ is exactly what you’d expect from Radiohead; intelligent, satisfyingly thought-provoking and sure to be lauded by all who appreciate the less conventional. For the fans it’s the latest evolution of something really rather special. 

In Rainbows will hopefully be remembered as Radiohead's most stimulating synthesis of accessible songs and abstract sounds, rather than their first pick-your-price download.

Once you get in, and Radiohead invites us in here more than any other time in its career, the album proves itself to be what we all thought Radiohead couldn’t make again: a masterpiece.

No wasted moments, no weak tracks:just primo Radiohead.

Packed but sparse, thrilling, complex, innovative, simple. Without even a dud bar never mind a filler track, In Rainbows is more than any fan could hope for.

Refracted through the prism of pure pop songcraft, Radiohead sound as ephemeral and variegated as ever, flowering and streaming and as big as the light our eyes can catch.