AR: In Rainbows

Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)

"Boring," "inaccessible," and "soundscape-laden" are the words that describe Hail to the Thief, but now the terms have changed: lush, immediate, full, vibrant, and gorgeous are the kinds of words, after just a few listens, to describe In Rainbows. And even those feel somehow cheap; this disc appears to operate on the psyche in more ineffable terms. It's an album drenched in perfect reverb that has moved its melodies to the forefront. Slow for the most part but never plodding, and enough face-rocking / mid-tempo numbers for varied pace. While it's a far cry from a hook-based pop spinner - and while Thom Yorke's wailings are still sometimes garbled as to be only decipherable* by googled lyrics pages - it's definitely a move to visceral, gripping art rock. For lack of a better metaphor, the piano-hall reverberation of strings, guitars, vocals, and, yeah, pianos washes over the listener. I'm tempted to type "aural baptism" here, but that's probably taking it too far. :) This, put simply, is rich music.

* - Note that "decipherable" here does not necessarily mean "able to be made sense of." I refuse to take semantic responsibility for Yorke's interior metaphoric landscape. That is all.

Electronic experimentation has (for the most part) been supplanted by lush grandiosity, and in one way of thinking, this is a call-back, organic counter to the dystopian epic-scale of OK Computer. Both are huge, echo-y orchestrations, this one not so clinically detached. Not that the message is upbeat - what you can understand from the lips of Yorke is undoubtedly despairing and uncertain, still - but permeating this album, even its bleakest talk of infrastructure collapsing, is a lived-in, almost romantic quality. "Used to be alright / what happened?" feels like a heartfelt question this time around, not detached commentary.

This album generated all kinds of press for its original distribution, a download-only straight-up mp3 format from a name-your-price website run by the band with no label involved. That alone would have made IR a historic document, but the album also grabbed the top spot of numerous indie-and-otherwise end-of-year lists. And rightly so - though Radiohead probably carries a disproportionate amount of cool cachet (evidenced by that ridiculous PF rating for HttT), this really is a top-to-bottom great album with little-to-no low points. If pressed to find faults, I'd say that "All I Need" is merely a solid song that fits its mood and placement on the album but would probably not be great as a standalone. I also could have used a little more from the closer "Videotape" - it's too much of a bare bones, unfulfilling number to properly wrap up the piece (though I do appreciate both the RGB metaphor, and that its fade into electronic drums serves to bookend the album; more on that below). But really, these complaints are very minor; the album's pretty damn seamless, and whatever is un-catchy or "just a spruced up acoustic ballad" sits so well on the album that it doesn't matter. The thing works wonders on a holistic level. "Everything in Its Right Place," to unoriginally abuse an RH allusion.

Because this review is in constant danger of degenerating into the words "lush" and "gorgeous typed again and again, I'll cap this with some bullet point style thoughts on the highlights:

• I *love* the weird polyrhythmic electronic handclap like something off an M.I.A. track that starts off the album / "15 Steps." What a great opener - it's a soul-dancer, and that almost jazz-guitar riff that drives the middle section is fantastic. And the return with kid screams to end it... nice.
• The hardest rocker award goes to "Bodysnatchers," whose guitar rock fuzz insanity frankly makes Muse look quite silly in the apings. "Paranoid Android" from OK Computer will forever be one of my favorite songs, and while this one doesn't touch it, its frenetic essence makes me think someone forgot the android this time around.
• Most of the "indescribably gorgeous" sentiments stem from the crystalline guitar / bass /vocals combo on "Nude," "WeirdFishes/Arpeggi" and "Reckoner," the latter pushing it over the top with strings. Beautiful timbre, and it's not the limit of what's happening in those tunes.
• The acoustic guitar + strings sound of "Faust Arp" gets called "Beatles-esque" a lot in the reviews. This is largely due to the, um, "Prudent" descending bass notes and "Rigy"-ish strings. But 1, the tune really reminds me more of an Elliot Smith as backed by a symphony orchestra, and 2, maybe the most Beatles-esque thing about it is the Brit-inflected "1,2,3,4" that starts the track and makes you think you're about to hear the slowest version of "Taxman" ever.
• Dios mio, "House of Cards" is a great song. Like someone took U2's "All I Want is You," made it simultaneously prettier and more emotionally complex, introduced an overwhelming, sensuous texture, and then tacked on some serious ambiguity with regards to sentimental / ironic intent. "I don't want to be your friend / I just want to be your lover" might look trite in print, but it aches the heart when heard. This song also plays with tension quite a bit such that you yearn for the right note to come before you've heard the melody once. I gush; this one won a Grammy (I think), and it's the highlight of the album to my ears.
• Speaking of "PA," "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" alludes well but does not just reiterate the original. Nice spice to round out the disc before the too cold closer.
  

Can't reiterate enough: really beautiful album that is primarily big and graceful but interrupts the grandeur with enough well-timed ferocity to balance things out. Entirely accessible, immediate and expertly paced. This particular reinvention of the chameleon that won't quit turned out great, and I look forward to the next effort sounding only vaguely like it.

Status: Recommended
Nyet's Fave: "House of Cards"