New Album Review: In Rainbows by Radiohead

It's far too difficult to write an interesting Radiohead review, so I'm gonna keep this short and simple. For a more extensive review check out Rolling Stone.

In Rainbows is Radiohead's follow up to Hail to the Thief, an album which received mixed reactions. It was the first album where they tried to bridge the gap between their unique alt rock sound and electronic experimentation. On their latest, they have really faded out a lot of their electronic sound in favour of the music more familiar to OK Computer. After one listen, In Rainbows did not particularly grab me. At least not in the way Radiohead's previous works have. On OK Computer they made a rock album that sounded like nothing else before it, and with Kid A they created a shockingly ugly yet beautiful and completely strange masterpiece. This is not to say In Rainbows is a failure, because even if they aren't breaking new ground, it is still only ground that Radiohead CAN cover. After multiple listenings, the subtle beauty of Rainbows shines through, revealing another powerful work of art. There are few artists in history that made music unlike anything previously heard. Obviously The Beatles come to mind, and no one could ever convince me that Radiohead isn't every bit as good, if not better.