Radiohead: The King of Limbs

With The Suburbs taking every album gong going, Win Butler of Arcade Fire looked poised to take the crown of Best Band in the World from the top of Thom Yorke’s head. But knowing Radiohead, it was never going to be an easy battle. And so, on Valentines day we were given the most beautiful news that could be broken, Radiohead have a new album out, excellent! When’s it out? Saturday. Ingenius! But apparently that was all just a rouse, and being the charming romantics that they are, they gave it out on Friday instead, a nice bit of chaos for the weekend papers to deal with then. The King of Limbs then, the 8th long-player from the legendary Oxford band, and only 8 tracks to show for it, had better be a blighter then.

In 2007 Radiohead re-invented themselves with In Rainbows it was stripped down, clean and beautiful in places. The King of Limbs then, is no In Rainbows, but that’s not a bad thing at all. Every track of TKOL has the characteristics of In Rainbows, but here we have a band following as many rules as Dr House. There’s no big guitars, no screaming solos but there is 38 minutes of pure, unadulterated beauty. Up first we have Bloom, pianos, electronics, drums they’re all here, but it is not until one minute in that these puzzle pieces fit together. Thom Yorke’s voice puts everything in it’s right place (Sorry) reverb-ing in and out, as violins flutter around and melodies fly about, overall creating a contained but quite reflexive opening track. The natural feel of Bloom goes on to set the tone for the rest of the The King of Limbs, named after a 1,000 year old oak tree in Wiltshire, here we have a record that clearly has taken inspiration from the environment. Not in an Al Gore let’s go and live in wooden huts and drive cars that run on chip oil way, but in a way that takes the beauty of the environment and transports it into an album. Although there are drum machines, and there are synthesizers here too, there’s is also a very organic sound. Bird song appears throughout the record and the reverb on Yorke’s voice makes you think it had been recorded from the woods of the King itself; even the album artwork is inspired from Northern European fairy tales of forests and woods.

The first single to come from TKOL is track 5 Lotus Flower, the video features Yorke throwing some shapes that I am extremely jealous of, and it’s been garnering some serious attention on the web, http://dancingthom.tumblr.com/ being the best thing to come from it so far. In regard to the song, it’s probably the most structured on the entire record, although that’s not saying it’s going to be getting up in the charts any time soon. Again, the impact of nature shows it’s face ‘Slowly we unfurl. Like lotus flowers’. I think that line generally embodies the entire album, The King of Limbs is Radiohead becoming a lotus flower, they’ve given themselves complete creative freedom and unfurled themselves, into something elegant, poignant and beautifully subtle. Following Lotus Flower is Codex and in my opinion one of Radiohead’s greatest musical feats to date. It is not cluttered, there is no heavy editing, all we have is a piano and a voice, and the same emotion in any rendition of Karma Police or Street Spirit, as well as the incredible simplicity of Reckoner, and where that track is now seen as the stand out from In Rainbows, Codex will be the very same for The King of Limbs. But all we can do now is wait, what will become of TKOL? It could well be seen as an E.P of abstract work to be looked at with one eye shut and a tilt of the head, or possibly one of the most beautiful bodies of work to happen since the start of the century.

Or, i could have written this all for nothing: http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/blogs/the-king-of-limbs-is-there-a-second-radiohead-album-still-to-come

Band of Horses: De la Warr Pavilion 4/2/11

After seeing the likes of Vampire Weekend and Kate Nash in 2010, the De la Warr’s repertoire for bringing in acts normally lighting up festival tents, to the south coast grows yet again. After touring around the country for the last few weeks, Seattle five piece Band of Horses UK tour culminated with an incredibly powerful yet beautifully intimate performance at the De la Warr.

So many bands rise out from the roots of America, but the bewitching, rich accent and the remains of the sound that once was the blues disappears through modern over-production. Not with Band of Horses though. Formed in 2004 by lead singer Ben Bridwell and now touring their third album - the Grammy nominated - Infinite Arms, the unmistakeable alternative side and sound of 'Country' lives throughout their discography.

Opening proceedings is Blue Beard an excellent showcase for Bridwell’s vocals, as well as the rest of the group, as they harmonise with him throughout, before being lead into lead single Compliments. An excellent, fast paced jolt from the usual toned down sway of textbook Country style. As the show continues, more and more focus is placed on the projections that play behind the band; normally the home for a static emblem for the artist, but here, they make it so much more. For Horses Du Jour a short introduction is made by a virtual Bridwell on screen, later a stop-motion film of the bands festival appearances plays through an entire song; but, between these well crafted clips the true visual highlight stands out. An ongoing collection of stunning photographs of central America. Whilst the band continue to play, empty sepia landscapes of the dry and desolate America that Bridwell recounts in his lyrics drift by, whilst his haunting voice fills the entire room. 


As well as providing songs that could quite easily fill up arenas, it is the bands delicate, more personal tracks that stand out. Evening Kitchen a duet of guitar and vocals manages to envelope the auditorium into complete silence as the evocative sound of nostalgia and reminiscence steals the voice and gaze of the crowd, through the power of beautiful musical simplicity. Although it is the minimal songs in Band of Horses collection that stand out, there is however one song that everyone has come here for, The Funeral, a swelling beast of modern Country craftsmanship, and although it must have been played at every single leg of their tour, the joy has not left the band. It is not only Bridwell, but every single member of the band pours their heart and soul into the song - as does the crowd - it is an uplifting and staggeringly exquisite song, played through a set of the most basic of instruments. Overall, An excellent performance by a band that have managed to bring one of the most important genres of the 20th century into the modern age, but not through a corporate, over- produced way, but through their own way. Band of Horses talent lies in there ability to create simply brilliant music, simply.