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Rating: We've missed another good opportunity.
What was supposed to be the music event of 2011 turned out to be a bit of a misstep.
Waiting 4 years since the last "In Rainbow" was to no avail: this "King of Limbs" (only 8 tracks for less than 36 minutes!) is a faded copy of things we've already heard. An album that seems rushed and poorly curated as a whole.
The self-referential citation of a band that now only seems good at recreating itself. No new sounds, no relevant ideas, poor arrangements and, ultimately, little teamwork.
It feels more like a "Eraser 2", the follow-up to the solo album of singer Thom Yorke, a glacial and aseptic work, than a true Radiohead work.
Where is the band? Where are the sophisticated arrangements of "Kid A"? Where are the writings of unforgettable tracks like those from "OK Computer" or even "In Rainbow"? Where is the research, the nihilistic poetry, and the experimentation?
No use: everything got lost behind elaborated and skillfully distorted sound-design, counteracting "easy" songs in their harmonic construction but at the same time uninteresting and much less memorable.
Another wasted opportunity, as I was saying. A transitional work, I hope.
Thus, it will be necessary to sit on the riverbank and wait a few more years to see if the carcass of an increasingly decrepit band will pass by, or if we'll see the resurrection of a group that has always proven to surprise us with each of its musical appearances (or almost).
At this point, for coherence, I should rate it with two stars, but frankly, I can't bring myself to. Evidence that even an old grumpy reviewer like me can still have a beating soul.
Yeah right, on the ring road from midnight to 3.... the usual mischievous tongues will say.
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Other reviews
By matto90
"Bloom opens with a dreamlike vision, sustained by unconventional percussion in true Radiohead style."
"Finally, 'Separator' feels like a new beginning, closing the album with a sense of freedom from past weights."
By Breus
The King of Limbs is a convoluted and pretentious work that perhaps wouldn’t even gain credit if it had been recorded by a lesser-known name.
Today, The King of Limbs seems an album without a reason to be.
By whereismymind
"King Of Limbs is... an exercise in style without spirit."
Listening to this contrived and barren album is a stab.
By vincenzosevi
After far too long, Radiohead are showing themselves for who they truly are, without too many frills.
It is a simple album, not particularly distinctive, but finally it reveals the true essence of the group, that is pop.
By Bert
Impossible to listen to the eight tracks individually. An album to listen to in one go.
This is a hermetic, cryptic album, which will take on different characterizations depending on the listener.
