overall the album is great and a different approach to the Radiohead method, as per usual.
The album opens dark and groovy with BURN THE WITCH, but the record is largely lush, mellow, and beautiful, most emphasized by the 3 tracks out of 11 being piano ballads with great scoring and production, but no drums or crazy dynamics.
Radiohead utilizes 2nd songwriter Jonny Greenwood arguably more than ever before, borrowing his experiences from composing scores for movies such as THERE WILL BE BLOOD and THE MASTER. BURN THE WITCH opens strong with a percussive use of orchestra, making it freighting and intense. GLASS EYES serves as albums interlude, but the string section compliments the fractured piano line and thom's melodies very well; compared to a song that functions similarly, In Rainbow's FAUST ARP seems more forced relative to GLASS EYE's delicacy and contained structure. Other strong orchestral moments happen in THE NUMBERS, a very Beatles-esque song, which the strings appear half way thru the track and serve to compliment the vocal/piano lines in a call and response fashion. TINKER TAILOR, the albums gloomy very Radiohead lounge jazz song, also has a unique string section that serves as the songs climax in the bridge.
But orchestral skills aside, there are some more classic Radiohead moments on this album. DECKS DARK has been a hit amongst Radiohead's direhard fans, and that is expected when the track is arguably the most OK COMPUTER effort on the album, with lyrics of alien spacecrafts, dark depression, and biting angst lyrics like "it was just a laugh" and "you gotta be kidding me".
FUL STOP is a fan favorite since it was played on the last tour, and it is essential Radiohead... would have been pissed if it was left off the album. The song is a 6 minute jam in the style of krautrock, a German genre of music Radiohead has been fans of via groups like CAN and NEU!. Half way in, the live drums kick in and it is pretty fucking epic. great dark electronic pulsing jam.
The tracklist is in alphabetical order, which kind of freaks me out. But I think the album will age really well. I've been listening non-stop since release in order to UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING ABOUT IT, yet there are still tons of stuff i have questions about and would love to discuss with anyone here. (What does A MOON SHAPED POOL symbolize? What's the deal with TINKER TAILOR's song structure? Do you think the bassline at the end of THE NUMBERS is legit recalling The Beatles "COME TOGETHER"?)
so pls listen and pls lets talk about it and analyze everything + vote for our favs
The album opens dark and groovy with BURN THE WITCH, but the record is largely lush, mellow, and beautiful, most emphasized by the 3 tracks out of 11 being piano ballads with great scoring and production, but no drums or crazy dynamics.
Radiohead utilizes 2nd songwriter Jonny Greenwood arguably more than ever before, borrowing his experiences from composing scores for movies such as THERE WILL BE BLOOD and THE MASTER. BURN THE WITCH opens strong with a percussive use of orchestra, making it freighting and intense. GLASS EYES serves as albums interlude, but the string section compliments the fractured piano line and thom's melodies very well; compared to a song that functions similarly, In Rainbow's FAUST ARP seems more forced relative to GLASS EYE's delicacy and contained structure. Other strong orchestral moments happen in THE NUMBERS, a very Beatles-esque song, which the strings appear half way thru the track and serve to compliment the vocal/piano lines in a call and response fashion. TINKER TAILOR, the albums gloomy very Radiohead lounge jazz song, also has a unique string section that serves as the songs climax in the bridge.
But orchestral skills aside, there are some more classic Radiohead moments on this album. DECKS DARK has been a hit amongst Radiohead's direhard fans, and that is expected when the track is arguably the most OK COMPUTER effort on the album, with lyrics of alien spacecrafts, dark depression, and biting angst lyrics like "it was just a laugh" and "you gotta be kidding me".
FUL STOP is a fan favorite since it was played on the last tour, and it is essential Radiohead... would have been pissed if it was left off the album. The song is a 6 minute jam in the style of krautrock, a German genre of music Radiohead has been fans of via groups like CAN and NEU!. Half way in, the live drums kick in and it is pretty fucking epic. great dark electronic pulsing jam.
The tracklist is in alphabetical order, which kind of freaks me out. But I think the album will age really well. I've been listening non-stop since release in order to UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING ABOUT IT, yet there are still tons of stuff i have questions about and would love to discuss with anyone here. (What does A MOON SHAPED POOL symbolize? What's the deal with TINKER TAILOR's song structure? Do you think the bassline at the end of THE NUMBERS is legit recalling The Beatles "COME TOGETHER"?)
so pls listen and pls lets talk about it and analyze everything + vote for our favs