Album review: In Rainbows by Radiohead

Radiohead, In Rainbows (W.A.S.T.E., 2007)

I have a friend, perhaps the biggest Radiohead fan I know, whose Facebook status straight after this was released said he was "amazed at Radiohead's ability to deflect attention away from the question of whether the album is even good". I will do my best to focus on that question rather than the method by which they're selling / giving away the album . Alex Fear reckons it's a good strategy on their part; I'm not sure.

The status update continued: "Thing is, it is". And I agree. This is a good album, better than nearly everything on the radio (I don't anticipate much radio play for it). But it's not a great album; it's not an amazing album, like we spoiled fans have come to expect. I guess why that should be can be seen from this thoroughly in-depth analysis of their releases:

Pablo Honey (Parlophone, 1993): Guitars. Quite good.
The Bends (1995): Guitars. Very good.
OK Computer (1997): Guitars, piano, some machines. Excellent.
Kid A (2000): Machines, some guitars. Good.
Amnesiac (2001): Machines, guitars, piano, some brass instruments. Good.
Hail To The Thief (2003): Guitars, machines, some piano. Excellent.
In Rainbows: Some guitars, some machines, some piano. Good.

You see, this band have been pushing the envelope for so long and so consistently now that they've become victims of their own genious. There are a couple of killer tracks on here, but overall, In Rainbows covers the same musical territory as their previous releases, particularly Hail To The Thief, only it doesn't do so as well. Given that this is now album number seven for them this is hardly surprising, but it's still disppointing.

Perhaps this goes some way to explaining the sheer frustration and hopelessness in the lyrics, shown for example in the following words:

I have no idea what I am talking about
I'm trapped in this body and can't get out

- 'Bodysnatchers'

and

What's the point of instruments?
Words are a sawn off shotgun

- 'Jigsaw Falling Into Place'

Neverthess, it's not as if they ever needed any encouragement towards angry hopelessness in their lyrics before - raging at the meaningless banality of modern life did the job. This time there is added to that a higher-than-normal dose of what I have to interpret as malice towards a certain woman or women; I'd say "lost love" but the better description might well be vengeful lust - for one example, the soothing riff of 'House of Cards' only accentuates the brutality involved in singing "I don't want to be your friend / I just want to be your lover".

And there's guilt. Two tracks ('Nude' and 'Faust ARP') talk about going to hell, and another ('Videotape', with which the album closes) about "Mephistopheles [...] reaching up to grab me". And, of course, the mention of both "Faust" and "Mephistopheles" on the same album is very deliberate, especially given some of the other lyrics on that final track which likewise make allusions to Goethe's play.

So what now for Radiohead? I'd like to say they discover the forgiving love of Christ which frees us from the reality of guilt. More immediately, though, my prediction is that there'll be another solo album each from Messrs Greenwood and Yorke, and then... Radiohead go full-on drum n' bass. You heard it here first.

Track list

1. 15 Step
2. Bodysnatchers
3. Nude
4. Weird Fishes / Arpeggi
5. All I Need
6. Faust ARP
7. Reckoner
8. House of Cards
9. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
10. Videotape