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In Rainbows Official

Radiohead: In Rainbows

09th November 2007 | by Ross Riley

By choosing to break the distribution mould Radiohead have certainly become one of this year's most talked about bands.

In a reasonably successful move early indications are that the band have so far collected between £1.5m and £2m for their efforts and that's before the official CD sales are added to the bounty.

So was the hype, talk, and debate worth it? The answer may well depend upon where you stand on the Radiohead spectrum, if you like Radiohead at their more melancholy and atmospheric moments then In Rainbows will give you plenty of material to absorb yourself in.

In Rainbows can best be classified as an introspective album, the atmosphere is at times quite claustrophobic, in many ways it feels like a natural successor to Thom Yorke's solo album 'Eraser' especially in pace and vocal style.

Whilst this is not the best album Radiohead have released there is undoubtedly some tracks on In Rainbows that rank amongst their best. Bodysnatchers changes pace midway to incredible effect, All I need is sublime as it reverberates around its dark enclosed confines before exploding out in the last few seconds.

Later on the album Jigsaw Falling Into Place uses its quicker pace to construct an intense, almost raw sound before flourishing into its chorus. There are no bad tracks on the album but it does feel as though a few act as musical whitespace to the technicolour vibrance of the standout songs.

As an entire album In Rainbows marks a successful return for Radiohead, if you haven't devoured their previous releases then perhaps In Rainbows shouldn't be your first port of call, but anyone who appreciates the experience of a deep audio landscape will find plenty of enjoyment - pay what you choose, there may well be gold at the end of In Rainbows.

Rating:  8 / 10

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