The King Of Limbs

Rate It! Avg: 4.0 (889 ratings)
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The King Of Limbs album cover
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EDITOR'S PICK

Total Tracks: 8   Total Length: 37:33

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Jayson Greene

International Editor

Jayson Greene writes about music for Pitchfork, the Village Voice and other publications. From 2004-07, he was associate editor for SYMPHONY Magazine, where he ...more »

03.25.11
In which Radiohead become dependable
2011 | Label: Ticker Tape Ltd. / AWAL

In a SPIN cover story during the press run-up to Hail To The Thief, Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien mused to Chuck Klosterman about longevity in rock. "I'm interested in bands as beasts," he said. "I'm interested in U2 and the Rolling Stones and Neil Young & Crazy Horse….[Being in a band] is a complicated thing to do over the expanse of time, which is why I respect it so much." For Radiohead, the most revered apocalyptic doomsayers in rock, this is a disarmingly prosaic concern. For hardcore devotees, it could be deflating to hear the band's members discussing their inner dynamic like marriage counselors.

And yet: Asserting the right to exist, and pondering the absurd level of difficulty inherent in maintaining such a basic right, has always been one of Radiohead's great themes. From the moment the first of their Great Trembling Visions of the Future dawned — that would be 1997's OK Computer — Radiohead have always spoken in two voices: the screaming panic of data overload and the whimpered plea, behind it, to just be left alone. Hey, man; slow down. They are reasonable men; get off their case.

On The King of Limbs, their eighth studio… read more »

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user avatar

NO!!

mailman

another bad recommendation from emu's clueless recommendation engine.

user avatar

Uninspired and boring

Whimper

After the great work of Hail to the Thief and In Rainbows, I find this yawn-inducing collection of directionless noodling particularly offensive. Any of the tracks here could have been an intro or outro or intermission, but they all go on as they begin. Bad songwriting all over the place.

user avatar

Albarn Squats for Yorke

freecarvejunkie

Upon further review I've decided that Damon Albarn took a shit on Yorkes guitar...and the acoustic symphony that happened at that moment is what inspired the sound of TKOL. In addition, I must not be a true fan because I can't see how brilliant Radiohead is by purposely putting out an album inspired by shit. I am also old and listen to Matchbox 20 albums because I prefer to listen any album pre-In Rainbows.

user avatar

I love it

rendrag

I love the music, I love the way Radiohead connect with their listeners - got this higher quality from direct from Radiohead - when will eMusic start providing higher quality recordings - we'd pay (a bit) more

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A Long-Time Fan That Approves of TKOL

Goaty

I love Radiohead. It started with the Bends and Pablo Honey and hit it's peak with OK Computer. That Radiohead has evolved into today's Radiohead. If Radiohead were still playing like their old albums, it would SUCK! If you would like further proof of that, please listen to Muse's entire catalogue of early Radiohead rip offs. A band that doesn't evolve, dies. Maybe some of you would have preferred that, but I feel fortunate for their evolution. When you listen to TKOL, keep in mind the band's smart and intricate song writing injected with intense emotion. It' still there!

user avatar

Perfect cooking music

ScottWilson

Slow burning songs that make the perfect accomplient to cooking a roast dinner or listening to before you go to sleep at night.

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Dollar Bin

freecarvejunkie

If this music was made by any band other than Radiohead you would never know it exits...I take that back, without Radiohead name and fame, it would never even been recorded...I'm going to go listen to The Bends and forget the last 5 years of Radiohead music. P.S. WTF, a remix? Who wants a remix of possibly the most lazy piece of music ever made by one of the great rock bands of the last 2 decades...they phoned this in from a yacht in the med.

user avatar

2 Stars, Only 1 Star for Radiohead

exurgencySpectacularrr

Extremely frustrating, and decidedly boring. Frustrating because Radiohead is genius; this album, subpar. For years, each new album beautifully surpassed its predecessors, and so a new Radiohead album was exciting to behold. \"In Rainbows\" was the first slip, in my opinion--solid, but perhaps only 3.5 / 4 stars against the 5-star \"Hail to the Thief\". This King of Limbs, though, somebody slap me. It's just listless torpor. Reminiscent of Thom Yorke's \"Eraser\", an album that elicits feelings such as \"Uhhh, yeah, OK, I like it, I guess I want to like it, I feel like I should like it... but you know what...? Who cares.\" Where is the sonic genius and the nuance of feeling that they have always brought to their work?? Don't get me wrong: This *is*...listenable. For another band maybe it would even qualify as a promising, forgettable, 3-star debut. For Radiohead, it feels like they're maundering in their own waste bin. Booo. And snore. Please, take my money--and DO something. Something better.

user avatar

The Antithesis of Funky

permafrost154

I've always been amazed by how much self-indulgence Radiohead gets away with. This is is anglo-saxonly unfunky as it gets, but maybe hardcore fans are more patient than me. There are many superior Radiohead records to listen to, so why bother with this?

user avatar

lighten up

prayssac

well, haven't listened to radio head for along time. Got a bit heavy and dark for me. Just thought I'd check out what they are up to and really like it. Something quite beautiful about the songs. Feel the sun rising in there. x

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