The following is my opinion after hearing the album one time through. I was listening on the bus, then in my co-worker’s cube, so it didn’t always have my full attention. I expect to fully immerse myself over the next week.
But, overall, I like it. How much? Let’s go through the emotional journey they’ve shared with us…
First two tracks, “15 Step” and “Bodysnatchers”, sound energetic but not frenetic. Almost… happy. I said almost – it’s still Radiohead. Then the albums energy level slows down a bit, and there’s a lot of resemblance to Thom Yorke’s solo album work – bare, naked almost (heh, Track 3 is called “Nude”, after all) with just Yorke’s voice and a few instruments. But around Track 5 (“All I Need” and “Faust Arp”) the boys start layering more music down, and by Track 7 (“Reckoner”) I think it almost reaches the heights they achieved on Amnesiac, as far as the electronica, non-pop-y sound the band has evolved into. I have to say that “Reckoner” is my favorite so far – it fit perfectly into my wistful, autumn morning mood as I walked under fluffy gray skies on the sidewalk of inner southeast Portland, on my way to my windowless basement job. Wait, I take that back. The song actually lifted me above the gray walk to my basement job. Good job, Radiohead!
Sadly I don’t have much of an opinion (yet!) about the final songs – they sounded OK as background music to my morning conversation, but they didn’t make me sit up and listen intently. That might be a failure of the songs, or it might be a testament to Ken’s story-telling ability, or some intersection of the two.
It’s not (yet!) my favorite Radiohead album – that honor will always go to “The Bends”. Second favorite? No… that’s for their last album, “Hail To The Thief”, perhaps because I’ve seen the band live during their tour for that album at Coachella.
After only one listen, I’d have to put “In Rainbows” in the middle of their work, along with “Kid A” and “Amnesiac”. Does that sound like a slam? It’s not, at least to me. Radiohead’s work is always head and shoulders above most other artists working today. Even a fair work by them is still awesome and worthwhile.
And I’m sure this release will grow on me.