Released: 2011
Genres: Experimental Rock, IDM, Electronic, Glitch Pop
The Musiquarium’s The King of Limbs Review Score: 4.5/5
After the critically-acclaimed, but relatively straightforward (at least by Radiohead’s standards) In Rainbows, Radiohead went back to experimental mode with The King of Limbs, building most of the music around samples and loops using software written by guitarist Jonny Greenwood.
Unfairly seen as disappointing and slept-on by fans wanting something more conventional and familiar, The King of Limbs often gets lumped in with Pablo Honey (another fairly underrated album) for being the worst Radiohead albums, but T.K.O.L. is absolutely brilliant, and requires additional listens from most listeners for the music to properly unfold.
Bloom sucks the listener into the trippy world that Radiohead has created for them to lose themselves in. Morning Mr. Magpie is perfect for micro-dosed morning walks with birds in the clear blue sky. Lotus Flower is a brilliant song, made even more famous by its music video with a dancing Thom Yorke. Codex is a haunting and beautiful piano ballad à la Pyramid Song. The drum loop in Separator has Philip Selway at this best since Airbag and 15 Step.
The King of Limbs is no less masterful than anything else Radiohead has ever released and is mostly given a bad reputation for being short, as well as being the band’s most experimental outing, but give it a chance and you’ll hear plenty of kaleidoscopic colours. At the very least, people should check out The Basement Tapes performance of the album, which tends to get a little more love. Also worth listening to are the non-album tracks from this era, particularly The Daily Mail and Staircase.
For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view Radiohead on Discogs.
Back to the 2011 Album Guide or the Radiohead Reviews page.
Written by Brett Nippard