In Rainbows

As we all know, the new Radiohead album, In Rainbows, came out in digital form this week. Of course, I had pre-ordered the download and literally yelped with glee when I received the e-mail with the DL link late Tuesday night.

Admittedly, I was skeptical of this album. With all the hype from the website and not knowing when it would come out and all of a sudden everyone could pre-order it (potentially for free) and get it 10 days later...it all seemed a bit fishy to me. And very rushed. It came out of nowhere; a pleasant surprise, without a doubt, but still out of nowhere. Hence my trepidation. As much as I wanted to hear new material from them, I wouldn't trade immediacy for quality. Ever. And I, along with other Radiohead fans, expect nothing less than perfection from them. Especially given that it's been 4 years since Hail to the Thief.

All of that said, I must say, this album is far from a disappointment. It wasn't exactly rewarding on the first listen, but it doesn't require a whole lot of patience to wait for it to pay off. It gets there after the third-ish listen. It takes a few listens because it is, for the most part, ambient in sound and smooth in texture. The sounds aren't controversial, strange, or even loud, so they don't demand your immediate attention. At first, the songs all sound the same. That worried me. But then, after several more listens, I became able to differentiate among them and to appreciate the smooth, hypnotic flow of the album.

Most of the album is comprised of previously unreleased tracks that most (devoted) Radiohead fans have already heard performed live. Some of the track names have changed several times before now ("Nude" was once "(Don't Get Any) Big Ideas"), some of them are the same ("Videotape"). There are a couple of new ones, like "Bodysnatchers" and "Faust Arp". But for the most part, this album is not brand new material. I knew that before it came out, and I felt unsure about it. I worried that this album would feel like a disjointed compilation, the songs in no real order, just a bunch of old tracks they stuck together out of lack of creativity. And I couldn't help but think, I've waited this long and all I get is a compilation of songs I've already heard? No surprises (OK Computer pun?) No excitement? Bummer!

Yes, I did think such things. Why I questioned Radiohead's artistic skill and integrity, I don't know. Alas, I had nothing to worry about. First of all, this is not a compilation of live tracks. These are studio recordings. And some of these songs are old, it's true. But that just means that Radiohead's had YEARS to perfect them. Which means that this album is the product of years of work. Which, I realize now, is actually more impressive than putting out an LP of totally new material. As opposed to an all-new album, Radiohead's put together their best stuff, material they introduced into their arsenal years ago and have since pulled out again and again to revise, edit, improve, finally put together cohesively on In Rainbows. Which means that this album has been a masterpiece in the making for nearly a decade. Impressive? Yes.

I'm certainly impressed. This album is not what I was expecting. I had unrealistic hopes at first of another OK Computer. But OK can not and should not ever be duplicated, even by Radiohead. That would be boring and stagnant. It does seem that this album is a natural progression and maybe an improvement from Thief. This album is like Thief minus the angst and the tension. Thief tried, I think, to include too many different sounds, which I think made it just a hair short of perfection. In Rainbows doesn't make that mistake - the flow is incredible, the sound is just gorgeous, it's effortless. Sometimes I do wish for a bit more angst, more buildup, rising tension, explosion. But I can get that from OK Computer and Kid A. That's not what this album is supposed to do, so I shouldn't expect that from it. I think I'm able now to appreciate the album for what it is, and it truly is a unique addition to Radiohead's repertoir.

I'm not disappointed.