Review: The King of Limbs by Radiohead

Radiohead
The King of Limbs
XL/TBD Records
Release Date: February 18, 2011 (digital) / March 28, 2011 (CD/vinyl) / May 9, 2011 ("newspaper" edition)

If all you know about Radiohead is their 19-year-old (!) debut single “Creep”, then you quite simply do not know Radiohead. Radiohead have cemented themselves as one of the most consistently impressive bands around, dating all the way back to their sophomore release, 1995’s The Bends. Every single album since has been stellar, reinventing, refining and expanding their sound on every effort to make for a revolutionary and enthralling experience. This includes OK Computer (1997), one of the ‘90s best albums, and Kid A (2000), which is what many consider one of the best albums of the ‘00s. That’s one hell of a track record.

Their last LP, 2007’s In Rainbows, took the world by surprise (literally), by announcing its release a mere ten days beforehand and charging fans whatever they thought the album was worth to them. The pay-what-you-want tip cup payment method slightly overshadowed the album’s actual content at first, but soon enough, it became clear that they had done it again and released another fantastic album worthy of the Radiohead canon.

Four years later and here we go again: A four day head’s up followed by the worldwide, independent release of their eighth record, The King of Limbs. Although they did away with the optional payment, the impossible hype still surrounds the always-dazzling English quintet to deliver yet again.

So…did they?

Well, it’s not that easy to tell…yet. The album was released by the band Friday, February 18, so as of this writing, it has been out for under a week. Even with repeated listens since then, the longer-term impact of the record is still unclear. Still, it is a collection of songs like any other album and, greater implications aside, it can be analyzed as such.

The King of Limbs is easily Radiohead’s shortest LP to date, clocking in at a lean 37 minutes and a mere eight tracks long. The overall sound of the album seems thoughtfully restrained, as it never fully erupts or swells at any given point. Instead, there is the sense of instrumental precision, making every note worthwhile and noticeable. Of note, Phil Selway’s light and often times off-timing percussion is present on many of the album’s tracks. However, on most of these songs, it is Thom Yorke’s patented falsetto that stands out, working as an instrument in and of itself, entrancing the listener with whatever cryptic lyrics he sings.

Speaking of which, the album’s potential meaning is still murky. The album title may be a reference to a 1,000-year-old oak tree near where the band recorded In Rainbows. This unconfirmed fact, coupled with the numerous allusions to nature and the softer “feel” of the album, may imply contemplation about a return to simpler, natural roots. The eerie, propulsive instrumental track “Feral” plays out like its title suggests, like a once-domesticated animal escaping its confines to become wild and free again. Lead single and standout “Lotus Flower” finds a nice middle ground between solemnity and bombast, abiding to a more-normal structure and sound, encapsulating the listener with its effortless, chill-out vibe and Yorke’s standout vocals. In fact, many of the tracks tend to have the general sensibility of Radiohead’s previous slower, ballad-type songs, but each with different nuances. “Morning Mr. Magpie” gradually becomes foreboding and uncertain, whereas “Give Up The Ghost” is a fragile, haunting number with little more than an acoustic guitar strum and Yorke’s singing backed with a repeated falsetto of “Don’t hurt me”.

Simply put, it is easy to see how the album could be considered a disappointment or at least polarizing among longtime fans, especially when they are used to the band’s propensity for innovation. Even then, The King of Limbs is a great album. Like many great albums (and most of Radiohead’s previous works), it is not immediate. It is a sneaky record (partially due to the length), one that can be listened to ten times without notice. However, they will not be wasted listens: Each spin will have something new uncovered, as the relaxing, chilled-out subtleties of the album surround. Admittedly, it may still be one of Radiohead’s weakest albums, but considering their past, that very well makes it one of the year’s best. Many have considered The King of Limbs as a transitional album, somewhat like Amnesiac before it, bridging two fantastic, complete albums. In other words, don’t chalk this up as the downfall of one of rock’s elite. One of the last lines of the closer “Separator” is “If you think this is over / Then you’re wrong.” Let’s hope so.

Rating: 4/5

Review: All Day by Girl Talk

Girl Talk
All Day
Illegal Art
Release Date: November 15, 2010

Anyone unfamiliar with Gregg Gillis and his musical mash-up mastery under his Girl Talk pseudonym is clearly depriving him or herself from a truly entertaining and exciting experience. Girl Talk makes the art of the mash-up look effortless and the results have always been highly infectious and replayable. The surprise release of his fifth LP, All Day, follows in the same vein as his past work, fine tuning his craft to perhaps make it his strongest album to date. Here are five reasons why this needs to be in your iTunes library now:

1. 1. It has something for everybody. Greg Gillis does not discriminate. All Day samples over 370 different songs and interweaves them beautifully to create the hour-plus long album. Those hundred of songs run the gamut of the musical spectrum, from classic rock to today’s hip-hop and rap to ‘90s alternative to ‘80s classics. Gillis’s source material is nearly bottomless, which allows him to make some inventive combinations and contrasts. The bottom line: Unless you are musically challenged, it is near-impossible to not recognize some of the samples.

2. 2. It is constantly changing. Let’s face it: Sometimes listening to an entire album is simply a daunting task. One would prefer to just skim through to the best parts of songs at will. Those of us with that inherent attention deficiency have found their musical mecca. Unlike other mash-up artists, where a full song juxtaposes the beat of one song to the vocals of another, Girl Talk never sticks with the same sample for more than a minute or so. He is far too spastic (as evidenced by his amazing rave of a live show…take note, Sienafest…) for his own good, which ends up being for the listener’s good, as well. This consistently keeps things fresh, allows a particularly underwhelming mash-up to dissipate rather quickly, and puts the listener perpetually on guard.

3. 3. It allows for novel combinations. One of the entertaining elements of mash-ups is the inherent contrasts of the source material, and Gillis does a good job making the quirkiest, funniest and interesting combinations while still maintaining a non-stop party. It takes a surprising amount of appreciation and knowledge of music to even be able to make some of these connections. Some of the standouts include Soulja Boy’s “Pretty Boy Swag” with Aphex Twin’s “Windowlicker” (hysterical), “Pop Champagne” and “Drop It Like It’s Hot” (no-brainer) and Radiohead’s “Creep” with Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” (bizarre but awesome). Usually, the combination involves rapping done over an unorthodox beat, but again, Gillis always keeps his listeners on their collective toes. In the first few minutes alone, he mixes in Black Sabbath, Ludacris, Jay-Z, Jane’s Addiction, M.I.A., The Ramones and plenty of others, simply elucidating his effectively prolific nature.

4. 4. It is a musical scavenger hunt. It is simple math: 370-plus samples in 71 minutes means an average of about five different songs a minute. Good luck trying to determine them all. Okay, they are all (mostly) mapped out on Wikipedia to the second, but consider it musical discovery at hyperspeed. In the span of a minute, you might be singing along to a beloved jam, re-discovering an old favorite and hearing something completely new. Music aficionado or not, the sheer breadth of music at play here is something at which to marvel.

5. 5. It is a self-contained party. If nothing else, All Day is the perfect party album. Just put it on and you have over an hour of highly danceable, highly entertaining tunes. Cover all of the bases without the effort of DJing. No other single album has such an applicable aesthetic.

Oh, and one more thing: The whole thing is available to download for free…legally. Head over to illegal-art.net/allday, do yourself a big-time favor and add this one to your iPod right now. You will not be disappointed.

Rating: 4/5

Review: Hurley by Weezer

Weezer
Hurley
Epitaph Records
Release Date: September 10, 2010

Here we go again. Since 2008, Weezer has almost seemed like Weezy with their uncharacteristically prolific release of music: Hurley represents their third LP in the last three years, with a fourth album of unreleased tracks (Death to Fake Metal) due in November. This would typically elicit excitement from any normal fan. However, the more typical response would probably be uncertainty and curiosity. 2008’s self-titled effort (The Red Album) and 2009’s Raditude were both exercises in mediocrity, featuring solid albeit straightforward singles sitting side-by-side with sloppy, groan-inducing songs. Hurley, featuring perhaps the greatest album cover of the year, seemed poised to continue this trend. In recent years, Weezer has seemed more proficient at making internet memes and lame jokes than at making music. Most fans (myself included) put up with this auditory debauchery in hopes of another album analogous to their first three or four. For once, fear not: Hurley is the first Weezer album since 2002’s Pinkerton that makes me not want to punch myself in the face.

Packaged with that lovely close-up of Jorge Garcia, Hurley more or less follows Weezer tradition of delivering ten, non-related injections of power-pop. This time around, however, there is not that repetitious stench of lack of effort. Most of the songs seem well-polished and not utterly inane. As usual, the lead single, “Memories”, is an exemplary illustration of their ability to create an irresistible sing-along that is also funny, as it humorously details the band’s antics when they first began. The distinguishing characteristic of their eighth LP is the presence of multiple, slower jams that actually deliver with seemingly relative ease. “Hang On” is one example, featuring Michael Cera on backing vocals and mandolin, but the clear-cut standout is the closer “Time Flies”. Definitely a leap out of their stringent comfort zone, the song features a grainy, lo-fi sound and a country/folk feel, almost reminiscent of Led Zeppelin.

The only song that really continues the recent trend of infuriating inanity is “Where’s My Sex?”, a mind-numbingly straightforward, chugging tune about the near-homonymic nature of the words “socks” and “sex”. Mind you, frontman Rivers Cuomo is a Harvard graduate. Knock it off.

Other than this minor misstep, and the general lack of cohesion of the album, the sheer improvement of quality of each individual song more than makes up for these flaws. Any Weezer fan who has been reluctant to bother with their recent work should come out of the woodwork: Hurley is definitely a step in the right direction.

Key Tracks: “Memories”, “Time Flies”, “Unspoken”

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: Get Sharp by The Limousines

The Limousines
Get Sharp
Release Date: July 17, 2010
Orchard City Books and Noise

Meet your new favorite band that you’ve never heard. Perhaps slightly hyperbolic, The Limousines do possess that borderline universality to straddle multiple genres and appeal to a wider audience. Still a relatively unknown entity (so jump aboard before it’s no longer hip), The Limousines are garnering some mild attention from their excellent single and video “Internet Killed the Video Star”, but with their aforementioned sound, they could (and should) be far more ubiquitous in musical vernacular.

The Limousines are an electro-pop duo from California, featuring Strata vocalist Eric Victorino. With demos circulating the web since 2007, their first proper album, Get Sharp, has finally landed three years later, and it has more or less lived up to the expectations set by these teaser songs.

What about The Limousines stirs such bold statements of universal adoration? In essence, they know how to craft that insanely infectious gem without being grating or stooping to abysmal, effortless lows. In addition, many of the songs of Get Sharp combine this irresistibility with surprisingly good lyrics, something not terribly prevalent for many contemporaries of the subgenre. One of the best songs of the past few years, “Very Busy People” takes a bouncy-and-woozy electro backing and couples it with Victorino’s high-pitched, melodious delivery, as he discusses that near-indescribable refusal to grow up and valuing the minute things that we often take for granted until it is too late. Another upbeat number with an engrossing narrative, “Flaskaboozendancingshoes” playfully ruminates about the possibilities after meeting someone at the club one night. He considers that “we could fall in love and trade this city for a change of pace”, but concludes that “I’ll just be me and you be you, two perfect strangers being sneaky with a flask of booze.” Even with just the repeated delivery of “Mama said there’d be days like this, my mama said,” “Triangle Circle Square” pulls off momentary grandiosity in its constantly encapsulating atmospheric haze.

Two of the closest comparisons to The Limousines might be Passion Pit or MGMT, since they both also feature intoxicating, sometimes sugary electro-pop with near-falsetto vocals. It is those great lyrics that differentiate Get Sharp from, say, Manners. Anyone who likes these bands or easily accessible and fun synth-driven poppy music must do themselves a favor and obtain a copy of Get Sharp and listen to it on repeat. It is available now on iTunes and at Hot Topic.


Rating: 4.25/5