New Radiohead "A Moon Shaped Pool" Released Today

[Warfish]

 

[RutgersJetFan]

It really is fantastic. Most of these tracks have been around a very long time in other forms, and I think that's part of the appeal of this one. Greenwood bringing in the London Contemporary Orchestra puts life into these song that none of the live versions have ever displayed in comparison.

A studio version of True Love Waits. I'm still in shock. That's been rumored for like 20 years now and I had accepted that it probably wasn't ever going to happen. It seems like they were just waiting for the right piece of work to put it on and this album is the perfect vehicle for it. Never in a million years thought whatever version they might eventually make would hit me harder than the one on I Might Be Wrong but man, just wow.

Also lol at the sequencing just being in alphabetical order.

[Powpow]

 

[RutgersJetFan]

I think I could go on and on about how much I love this album. Initial opinion is that it's their best since Hail and that's saying a lot because I spent about 6 months listening to nothing but In Rainbows when it first came out. I think Decks Dark and Ful Stop are two instant classics from them, right up with anything they've ever done. They actually debuted the latter in Chicago 4-5 years ago and it instantly became the stuff of legend, very cool for them to finally put it on wax.

[RutgersJetFan]

 Also, if the strings that come in at the end of The Numbers don't give you the chills, you don't deserve eardrums.

[Warfish]

I think it's a very similar album to In Rainbows.  Same vibe, same chill, same style musically, a bit more "cinematic" due to the orchestra, but very much in-line with In Rainbows.

I liked In Rainbows alot, so after 3 spins thus far, I think I'll like this as well.

My only lament is they've really lost all the dynamics they once had, they are well and truly a "whispered vocals, lonely chill piani riff/guitar riff/techno riff" band now.  The rock portion of their style is well and truly gone.  That's sad, as that rock dynamic added alot to their earliest, and IMO best, albums.

[Bombdirt]

Am I insane in thinking Pablo Honey was this band's best album? Every time I say that to Radiohead fans, they look at me like I'm some uncouth slob that spends his free time hurling feces at children and puppies. 

Pablo Honey was a pure, no-nonsense, guitar-driven rock album with extremely well-written and well-arranged songs from top to bottom. Their releases after that seemed to delve deeper and deeper into computerized beep-boop nonsense and unnecessary effects that resulted in very uneven compositions. (Case in point: the jarring and pointless drain-pipe echo on "Karma Police" which ruined an otherwise beautiful song.) Granted, I realize the band had to do something to differentiate themselves and evolve in the post-grunge era of the late 90s, but I feel like they could have stood very well on their own merits as rock musicians had they chosen to go that route. 

Not that I dislike Radiohead; they just kind of lost me right around Kid A and I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to them since. Maybe I'll check out some of their more recent stuff and see if I can connect with anything. 

[RutgersJetFan]

5 hours ago, Warfish said:

I think it's a very similar album to In Rainbows.  Same vibe, same chill, same style musically, a bit more "cinematic" due to the orchestra, but very much in-line with In Rainbows.

I liked In Rainbows alot, so after 3 spins thus far, I think I'll like this as well.

My only lament is they've really lost all the dynamics they once had, they are well and truly a "whispered vocals, lonely chill piani riff/guitar riff/techno riff" band now.  The rock portion of their style is well and truly gone.  That's sad, as that rock dynamic added alot to their earliest, and IMO best, albums.

For sure. Radiohead is a band that tends to do things in 3's in terms of stylistic consistency. Pablo/Bends/OK, Kid A/Amnesiac/Hail, Rainbows/Limbs/Moon. The funny part is that the middle albums in each of those trilogies tend to feature what are by far their best live tracks, particularly anything off Amnesiac.

I have a gut feeling they'll go a different way on their next one. Probably back to a more raw sound like their earlier stuff. You can hear it a bit on Moon already with both Greenwoods on a few tracks.

[HessStation]

1 hour ago, RutgersJetFan said:

For sure. Radiohead is a band that tends to do things in 3's in terms of stylistic consistency. Pablo/Bends/OK, Kid A/Amnesiac/Hail, Rainbows/Limbs/Moon. The funny part is that the middle albums in each of those trilogies tend to feature what are by far their best live tracks, particularly anything off Amnesiac.

I have a gut feeling they'll go a different way on their next one. Probably back to a more raw sound like their earlier stuff. You can hear it a bit on Moon already with both Greenwoods on a few tracks.

I didn't realize how much I loved the songs on Kid A and Amnesiac until I heard them live. 

[RutgersJetFan]

19 minutes ago, HessStation said:

I didn't realize how much I loved the songs on Kid A and Amnesiac until I heard them live. 

I spent so much time dissecting Kid A when it first came out. As a kid who grew up through the grunge era I just couldn't believe that alternative had that sort of possibility. There was no way they were ever going to be able to follow up OK with conventional work in the same vein as the albums before it and it was crazy to see they had the foresight for that, to simply go for broke no matter what people thought. And for me the best part about Kid A is the album in many ways is about how hard it was for them to do that (i.e. Optimistic).

For a long time I always viewed Amnesiac as sort of a companion album of throwaway tracks, but I think as time passed and more context came out about how they put it together it became clear that wasn't the case. Maybe the release of I Might Be Wrong had something to do with that, I dunno, it's too long ago to remember. For me the arc of Kid A to Amnesiac to Hail is the most extraordinary string of three albums put out by a rock band since maybe anyone, but I realize those LP's seem to be polarizing for conventional rock purists. Some people have trouble stepping outside their comfort zones when it comes to music and that's fine, grunge electronica jazz isn't for everyone.  Either way it's been very cool seeing the legacy that they all have, when the decade ended and Kid A was #1 on a bunch of decade lists that brought a huge smile to my face.

[HessStation]

2 minutes ago, RutgersJetFan said:

I spent so much time dissecting Kid A when it first came out. As a kid who grew up through the grunge era I just couldn't believe that alternative had that sort of possibility. There was no way they were ever going to be able to follow up OK with conventional work in the same vein as the albums before it and it was crazy to see they had the foresight for that, to simply go for broke no matter what people thought. And for me the best part about Kid A is the album in many ways is about how hard it was for them to do that (i.e. Optimistic).

For a long time I always viewed Amnesiac as sort of a companion album of throwaway tracks, but I think as time passed and more context came out about how they put it together it became clear that wasn't the case. Maybe the release of I Might Be Wrong had something to do with that, I dunno, it's too long ago to remember. For me the arc of Kid A to Amnesiac to Hail is the most extraordinary string of three albums put out by a rock band since maybe anyone, but I realize those LP's seem to be polarizing for some people too. Some people have trouble stepping outside their comfort zones when it comes to music and that's fine, grunge electronica jazz isn't for everyone.  Either way it's been very cool seeing the legacy that they all have, when the decade ended and Kid A was #1 on a bunch of decade lists that brought a huge smile to my face.

I've always preferred Amnesiac. 

[RutgersJetFan]

5 minutes ago, HessStation said:

I've always preferred Amnesiac. 

The funny thing is that the two albums that I have been quickest to dismiss by them on their initial release, Amnesiac and Limbs, are the two albums that have by far provided their best live songs.

[HessStation]

7 minutes ago, RutgersJetFan said:

The funny thing is that the two albums that I have been quickest to dismiss by them on their initial release, Amnesiac and Limbs, are the two albums that have by far provided their best live songs.

I thought they lost me at in rainbows and then it gradually became one of my favorite albums. But then Limbs is where they lost me. But then I never gave it a real chance, life got busy and only half listened once. I'm attempting to revisit it however. I've only heard the first two songs on the new one but excited to hear the whole thing and how they've redone some oldies. 

Ok Computer was a game changer for me. I remember buying it on a whim, I remember first listening to it. I remember replaying it a 100000 times. It was the perfect storm for me.

[RutgersJetFan]

13 minutes ago, HessStation said:

I thought they lost me at in rainbows and then it gradually became one of my favorite albums. But then Limbs is where they lost me. But then I never gave it a real chance, life got busy and only half listened once. I'm attempting to revisit it however. I've only heard the first two songs on the new one but excited to hear the whole thing and how they've redone some oldies. 

Ok Computer was a game changer for me. I remember buying it on a whim, I remember first listening to it. I remember replaying it a 100000 times. It was the perfect storm for me.

Me too. I remember as soon as I heard Paranoid Android I spent several days trying to figure out that one on my bass.

1997, jesus. Can't believe it's been almost 20 years.

[RutgersJetFan]

15 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

 Also, if the strings that come in at the end of The Numbers don't give you the chills, you don't deserve eardrums.

^ Actually think this might be the best track on the album after a few listens now. Keep an ear out at the end for when Colin cuts into the Come Together bassline behind the orchestra. Really a nice touch there.