IN RAINBOWS

"In Rainbows" is the 7th full-length studio album by UK experimental/alternative rock act Radiohead. The album was released in October 2007 and has an interesting release history as Radiohead gave fans the opportunity to download the album and name their own price or simply download it for free. It´s a release method that many underground artists use today, but the "Name Your Price" release method wasn´t as normal in 2007. The album was released in CD format in late 2007. "In Rainbows" was the first album released by Radiohead after their contract with EMI ended, and there probably was consensus within the band, that they wanted to try this alternative release form as opposed to working with a label again. The album entered the Billboard top 200 at number one and by October 2008, one year after it´s release, "In Rainbows" had sold more than 3 million copies.

The music on the album continues the less experimental and more "regular" alternative rock style of it´s predecessor "Hail to The Thief (2003)". The wild experiments of "Kid A (2000)" and "Amnesiac (2001)" are now more or less gone from the band´s sound. Thom Yorke´s emotional and melancholic vocals are as usual the center of attention. There are electronic beats on a couple of tracks but the music on the album mostly features ordinary rock instrumentation (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, vocals). The quality of the material is generally on a good level, but to my ears it´s not one of the stronger or standout releases in the band´s discography. It does come off as a bit of a "safe" affair and could have used some of the above mentioned wild experiments to spice things up. Sure the band incorporate the odd instrument, string section and electronic beat here and there, but they´ve been there and done that already.

The sound production is professional, warm and pleasant and as usual Radiohead are a very well playing unit. Ultimately that doesn´t erase the impression that this is a bit of a "run of the mill" type release by Radiohead. Competent, occasionally insteresting, but not consistently great or memorable. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.