RADIOHEAD: In Rainbows (POP): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

The album with which the scandal came? It's funny to note that when it comes to Radiohead's new album, critics have often tended to talk more about the state of the record industry than about the work itself, which is not a bad thing after all.

A little reminder for those who have just arrived from a deserted island: the English band, finding itself without a record company, decided to offer its new album as a more or less free download on its website (Internet users deciding how much to pay to get the album). One can imagine the faces of the directors of the record companies and the various distributors that have seen a very lucrative manna escaping from them. Radiohead had also said that he would offer the album in a luxurious box containing 2 CDs and 2 vinyls, the object, because of its price, being probably intended for the purists and fans of the band.

With this story, the band came back to the forefront 4 years after a rather hermetic "Hail to the thief" that continued the experimentation of "Kid A" and "Amnesiac". Good news for lovers of the romantic pop of "Ok computer", Radiohead is back with a more stripped down, more accessible album, but not simplistic, and this is probably where the strength of "In rainbows" lies.

The album is also a heterogeneous set of songs from different periods ("Nude" from the "OK computer" sessions) and alternates electrodynamic ambiences ("Bodysnatchers") with slow and desperate compositions ("All I need") which the band has had the secret for a few years. As a result, we can find that the album lacks unity, but we have to admit that once again Radiohead manages most of the time to trap us in a musical web that is difficult to get rid of. Indeed, how to remain insensitive to the beauty of the delicate "Reckoner", to the incendiary progression of "Jigsaw falling into place" or to the slow combustion of "Videotape"? This alchemy of electronic rhythms, more or less folk guitars, delicate pianos and plaintive vocals is undoubtedly the trademark of a band often copied but rarely equaled.

This being said, what about audiophiles who don't have access to the Internet or those who would simply like to get the album on CD with booklet and at a reasonable price? The answer was found a few days ago, since "In rainbows" was finally released in a single edition at a very affordable price. Radiohead, the rebels of the music industry? Probably not, but in any case they're a hell of a bunch of beauty creators. - Official website

RADIOHEAD

IN RAINBOWS

AUTOPRODUCTION

POP