It will surely go down in music history. A mysterious website appears online announcing simply "Radiohead have made a record. So far, it's only available from this website." No official logos, no explanation, no adverts, nothing. To call this low key would be an understatement. The first instinct of anyone remotely familiar with the thousands of unofficial fan sites buzzing around the net nowadays would pass it off as nothing more than a rather unconvincing hoax. But remarkably it was no such thing. Eschewing all commercial conventions, not to mention business sensibilities, arguably the biggest and most creative rock bands of the last decade spring their new album on the world with almost no warning, no cover art and no price tag. You can accuse them of high-minded 'it's all about the music man' pretensions, but it certainly takes some gall to introduce an honesty policy of 'pay what you like' for one of the most eagerly awaited albums in years. Then again in retrospect, with their track record of defying expectations, the whole thing was so typically Radiohead. Perhaps unsurprisingly, In Rainbows closely resembles its most recent predecessors, 2003s underrated Hail to the Thief, and Thom Yorke's minimal solo album, The Eraser, released last year. Accordingly it's just as intriguing, if only marginally easier to accept.
In Rainbows starts in gloriously spontaneous fashion. With kinetic percussion, electronic beats and funky bass riffs, opener "15 Step" sounds like a jamming session using kitchen utensils. It instantly recalls former off-beat high-tempo highlight tracks such as Hail to the Thief's "Backdrifts", Kid A's "Ideoteque" or Ok Computer's "Paranoid Android". There's a brief and welcome return to their rock roots with "Bodysnatchers", followed by the gorgeously mournful orchestral melodies of "Nude", completing the album's standout, most instantly accessible, musical triptych. Of course it's typical Radiohead in that it's a grower. Gradually the intensifying guitar riffs for wistful tracks like "Weird Fishes" (a personal favourite) and "Jigsaw Falling into Place" become ever more pleasing and defined. Unlike Hail to the Thief which was almost unceasingly bleak and intense, In Rainbows is overall more soulful, almost playful, in tone. But almost exactly like its predecessor, progressing through the album we must journey through more awkward terrain, with sparse electro-acoustic tracks like "All I Need" and "Faust Arp" sounding like leftovers from last year's The Eraser, complete with the minimal beats and haunting falsetto vocals. Yet, while these are almost instantly forgettable first time round, on repeated listenings the hidden complexities of these subtle tracks might place them alongside those mellow classics like Amnesiac's "Knives Out". Again harking back to former albums, In Rainbows finishes introspectively, the final track "Videotape" almost reaching the devastatingly emotional heights of Kid A's showstopper "Motion Picture Soundtrack" with its simple, heart-breaking lulling piano and tentative vocals.
Yet for all its many strengths, In Rainbows can best be described as a 'satisfying' Radiohead offering. It's not revolutionarily progressive like OK Computer or refreshingly subversive like Kid A or Amnesiac. Nor is it jam-packed with memorable anthems like The Bends. Despite the title, In Rainbows could possibly be the least 'colourful' of Radiohead's albums. Not so much built up of contrasts, a few outstanding tracks aside, In Rainbows is mostly shades of grey. It will please loyal fans, but it won't reconvert those all-out-rock lovers and it won't satisfy those hardcore experimentalists hoping to witness the next step in Radioheads evolution. Of course this is only technically the first draft, but I wonder if it weren't for the mystery surrounding its early online release, this short, modest offering might not have slipped by almost unnoticed.