With spring just around the corner, Radiohead releases their 8th studio album a day early. Coincidentally enough a majority of the album is spring themed from its title “The Kings of Limbs”, to many spring themed instrumentals within the songs such as the sound of birds chirping. The band keeps things fresh by once again changing their sound. It’s not too much of a departure from their last album, nevertheless it does feature less electronic effects and distortions, and has more of a ‘natural’ sound to it.
Radiohead fans should not be intimidated by this however, for Thom Yorke still sings with that distinct, artistic whine we’ve all grown to know and love. The album’s first single, and one of my favorite tracks so far, “Lotus Flower” features a music video of Thom Yorke showing us all who the King of Limbs is with his quirky convulsions. One thing that disappointed me about this release was the number of tracks. The album features only 8, which is a little surprising seeing as there last album was released almost 4 years ago. To me the album seems more like a bunch of really good b-sides and not a full studio release. There are a few rumors circulating that this is only one half of a 2 part album. Some of the proposed hints of this start with the News Paper edition that is available for pre-order (Released in May). This edition features two 10′ vinyl records which each store 90 minutes, more than enough for the 8 tracks clocking in at 37:24. A second clue is the last track “Separator”, an obvious name for and album splitter. The track also features the lyrics “If you think this is over then you’re wrong”. Either way, the album still deserves the attention, and you guys should definitely check it out.Be sure to check out Radiohead’s website for all the latest news, and available content to coincide with their latest release.