One month, 15 days, 23 hours and 42 minutes with Radiohead's 'In Rainbows'

You can buy this record at http://www.inrainbows.com. You can pay as much or as little as you'd like. Even $0. Give it a shot.

In Rainbows earns Listen In's highly coveted maximum grape rating (MGR).

It's been exactly that amount of time since they released their latest LP, and I can say with confidence that In Rainbows is Radiohead's masterpiece, surpassing both the post-modern swagger of 1997's OK Computer and the post-apocalyptic dystopia of 2000's Kid A.

What makes In Rainbows Radiohead's best is the way in which the band has finally created a coherent fusion of the many styles they have been experimenting with over the years. Where many of the tracks on 2003's Hail to the Thief felt forced and over-indulgent (see "The Gloaming" and "Sit Down Stand Up"), In Rainbows favors a more succinct approach, leaving not a spare note to be found on the album from start to finish.

Opener "15 Step" is among Radiohead's most danceable tracks, as it recalls the driving, programmed beats of Kid A's "Idioteque." The second track, "Bodysnatchers" feels like standard Radiohead fare on the first few listens, reminiscent of Hail to the Thief rockers like "There There" and "Go To Sleep," but further listening reveal the song's many infectious hooks and its "Paranoid Android"-esque guitar squeal to wrap things up.

The album's best song, "Nude," employs slick post-production noodling, reversing the soaring oohs and ahhs that conclude the track, and adding them to the front of the mix to create a ghostly introduction. "Nude" also represents Radiohead's tireless work ethic and penchant for editing. A song that at times stretched past six minutes during its appearances in the band's live sets during the past ten years is now a trim 4:15, and is easily Radiohead's most flawlessly produced track since Kid A opener "Everything In Its Right Place."

The album's next standout track is the unassuming "All I Need," which fails to spark much interest on the first few listens. However, as listeners become more attuned to the subtle emotional flourishes that are embedded all over this record, they will likely anticipate the crashing cymbals and pathos-laden keys that underlie Thom Yorke's bellowing vocal sendoff ("It's all wrong, it's all right...")

"Reckoner," a slow building song that revolves around a simple, repetitive minor chord progression before falling away and coming back to life with drums, tambourines, squirrelly guitars and Yorke's delicate falsetto in full force precedes the album's biggest surprise, the uncharacteristically simple (and borderline cliche) "House of Cards."

"House of Cards" doesn't so much fail as it shocks on first listen. This is Radiohead at its quietest and simplest in terms of song structure. Musically, House of Cards never really goes anywhere, but its saving grace are its beautiful string arrangements, layered atmospherics and haunted, reverb-drenched hums that wouldn't sound out of place on Grizzly Bear's excellent 2006 album "Yellow House."

The album's catchiest track and apparent first single is the quick and urgent "Jigsaw Falling into Place," in which Yorke uses the chaotic and disordered imagery evoked by the song's title to recount an encounter with an apparent loved one who he doesn't want to get "lost between the notes."

"Jigsaw" sets up the somber closer "Videotape." which is little more than Yorke, his piano and arhythmic bits of percussion added by drummer Phil Selway. The song is most reminiscent of Kid A's closer, "Motion Picture Soundtrack." It fails to compete with the raw energy of the songs that precede it, but proves that emotional expression in a post-technological world is still possible can still be effective even when understated.

In Rainbows is Radiohead, finally comfortable in its own skin. It's subtle, spacious and rollicking and leaves no doubt that the band whose sound in many ways help define the 90s will also largely shape the way musical historians look back upon this decade.

Oh yea, and they like released it for free or something. Not sure if you heard.

© ScooterDMan 2007 for LISTEN IN. Some rights reserved.

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