A biased review by a loyal fan

As a longtime fan of Radiohead who’s well aware that their albums take a number of listens to really come together in my mind, I’ll admit that writing a review three days after getting the new album isn’t an easy thing. I know it’ll be a while before I can really form an opinion, but first impressions are important too. Maybe I’ll do another review, Part II, in a couple of months, after the album has had a chance to sink in more.

I will say that, thus far, I do like In Rainbows, more than I did Hail to the Thief upon first listen. It picks up where its predecessor left off, but this time the sound is a little more relaxed. Still present are the dance-worthy tracks with jittery beats, ethereal moody ballads, and paranoid rock songs that have defined Radiohead’s work and sound since Kid A. And the lyrics are as strong as ever, with Thom musing alternately on his favorite subjects: death, suburban dystopia, toxic love, and of course, the f-ed up state of the world today.

Since, as I said, I’m still getting used to this album, I’ll simply list my first impressions of each of its 10 songs.

1. 15 Step - Everything we’ve come to expect from a modern Radiohead song: a twitchy beat, a hooky bassline, and lots of spooky echoey distorted stuff.

2. Bodysnatchers - This song’s bouncy opening is almost reminiscent of Yo La Tengo’s I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass. Then those synths come in, taking it into “National Anthem” territory. But the best part is the rocking breakdown at the end, which recalls the good old days of The Bends and OK Computer.

3. Nude -One of my favorites so far. Thom Yorke channels his inner black woman on this track, and it’s awesome. I’d love to hear a girl cover this song.

4. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - Nice drum and guitar intro. Like Sleater-Kinney, Radiohead are so good at setting up a deceptively simple hook and then building on it until it has a life of its own.

5. All I Need - A creepy love song with a weird forbidding synth line underlining the spare romantic lyrics, all overlaid with unnerving sound effects. Why so cynical about monogamy, Thom? But in the end, the song turns into a big dramatic ballad with pounding piano and soaring orchestration. A good time all around.

6. Faust Arp - There’s something about this song that reminds me of Elliott Smith. And that’s not a bad thing by any means.

7. Reckoner - Thom works that mighty falsetto of his in this track, but other than that, I don’t yet find it very memorable.

8. House of Cards - This is a reggae-fied song that sounds like the islands, with repetitive lyrics imploring the ‘you’ of the song to “forget about your house of cards” and promising to do the same. Something about the song makes it oddly hypnotic. Perhaps it’s Nigel Godrich’s background work, which is littered with weird yodeling and perfectly mixed strings, and would sound right at home on a late-era Beck album. Kudos, Nigel.

9. Jigsaw Falling into Place - Another energetic rock tune. This one has ’single’ written all over it, and not just because it includes multiple uses of the word “dance.”

10. Videotape - The emotional heart of the album, this is the deep, whoa-man track the fans have been waiting for. One of Radiohead’s classic fantastical laments, this song centers around death (of course). The song’s protagonist dies and is given a videotape of his life to watch. He remembers his lover and his life experiences, accompanied by a mournful repeating piano line that builds to a heartbreaking crescendo. A very affecting song. Interestingly, it features a train-like drum beat, which recalls “I Have Seen It All,” Thom’s duet with Björk on Selmasongs, the soundtrack to the film Dancer in the Dark. This song was not performed by Thom in the film (unfortunately — how cool would that have been?), but for some reason he was on the soundtrack, which was OK by me. In conclusion, train songs are cool.

So that’s the album. If you haven’t already, you should go to http://www.inrainbows.com/ and download it. I’m sure you’ve already heard that it’s pay what you will, like a museum, so if you’re broke, no problem. Isn’t Radiohead the best band ever?