"After years of waiting nothing came."Those were the lyrics that started "Packt Like Sardines In A Crushed Tin Box" that began the Amnesiac album and were probably a reference to the rough years between the OK Computer album and Kid A. Fans waited and waited but no new album came. We were even forced to scavenge Pablo Honey for any sign of the greatness that was OK Computer.
The Amnesiac album, which you may remember, sprang out of nowhere much like The King of Limbs. The Kid A and Amnesiac albums were recorded together and released eight months apart.
And so roughly a decade later we have to the same situation...after years of waiting, The King of Limbs has come. I know I'm not the only one out there that is waiting for the other shoe to drop regarding the TKOL's follow up which HAS to be coming. The quality and quantity of Radiohead's previous work demand that The King of Limbs cannot be ALL there is.
Another point that flabbergasted me is the pricing structure. After the pricing experiment that was In Rainbows why am I know paying more per track than if I wanted to buy the new Ke$ha song? If Radiohead doesn't have a record contract why am I paying the same price as artists who do and have all that overhead? In the end it was my stupidity to think that when Radiohead said their new album was coming out they really didn't mean their new EP is coming out. The Airbag/How Am I Driving EP had one fewer songs than TKOL and roughly the same run time. The I Might Be Wrong live EP is longer and has the same number of tracks. I could have waited for a track listing and initial reviews but I didn't think I would need to.
Which brings us to what I actually think of the album. It seems to me that there is nothing as meaningless as a person's initial feelings of a new Radiohead album but with a gun to my head I would currently rate my feelings as "a mild disappointment." All the songs would make serviceable B-sides to any Radiohead single...that is if Radiohead still made singles. Give me another week and I imagine I will be finding parts of songs I enjoy that I totally gave up on before.
But one thing is true...the more and more I watch that "Lotus Flower" video the more annoyed I get. There is a fine line between art and stupidity.
Comments
It's all good though. However, I'm a fan of the whole electronic thing and there are more guitars here than are immediately apparent. Just more subtle than on their other albums. I can see how many people could be pissed with this album due to the kind of music and the brevity.
You know what this reminds me of? The Pixies' Bossanova. That's another album from an amazing band that doesn't compare to their masterpieces but is still pretty damn fine music. Easy Listening Pixies. This is a nice, solid, chill album that looks laughable compared to OK or Kid A, but shit at least it ain't Black Eye Lady Bieber or whatever passes for pop nowadays.
Once this album hits the Amazon $5 MP3 bin next year I'll feel kinda foolish for shelling out nine bucks for it, but I'm still happy with the album. I've bought enough of their great stuff second hand where I don't feel bad about buying the band a six-pack for this album.
R.N. Coyote:
While I would normally be appalled at trading away Kid A, a trade for Underworld is a damn fine trade.