Albums of 2011: 15-11

15. Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
Having got bogged down with some concept-heavy albums of late, Okkervil River rediscovered their muse with I Am Very Far. Self-produced by Will Sheff, the use of double-tracking gave the band a punchier sound, and with no overriding theme, the focus seemed to be on producing a diverse and creative set of songs, from the climactic White Shadow Waltz to the haunting Show Yourself, bringing the band close to the heights previously reached on 2005's Black Sheep Boy.


14. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs

Radiohead's 8th LP arrived with all of the drama we've come to expect, and opinion was predictably divided. Was it too short? Was there a follow-up (the album's parting words of  "If you think this is over, then you're wrong" was very knowing)? Did it break any new ground for the band, or the world of popular music in general? Whilst a Kid A-style reapprasial may not be on the cards, time will tell just where it stands in the Radiohead canon, but for now its intricately textured songs, drawing as much from Bon Iver as they did James Blake, sounded just right in 2011.

13. EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
Formerly of alt-folk act Gowns, Erika M Anderson's debut solo LP was the year's most cathartic and beautifully damaged record. By turns stark and vulnerable (Marked), brash and resolute (California) and unhinged (Milkman), lyrics such as "I wish that everytime he touched me left a mark" could be translated in multiple ways. A suitably harrowing record on the woes of drug addiction, it made total sense when Anderson wound up covering Endless, Nameless on a tribute to Nevermind.

12. Metronomy - The English Riviera
Joseph Mount's third LP with Devon-based Metronomy saw the band continue to evolve from their giddy electronic beginnings to purveyors of super-smart pop, falling somewhere between XTC and the Pet Shop Boys. Deliciously bittersweet songs such as Everything Goes My Way and The Look sunk their hooks in deep, whilst the ravier likes of Corinne and album highlight The Bay showed that Mount hadn't completely lost touch with his roots.

 

11. The Men - Leave Home
Brooklyn-based the Men channeled every form of noise-based rock from the past 30 years into a single exhilirating release. Whether it was Sonic Youth-inspired no wave, Harvey Milk-esque doom metal, or Spacemen 3-style space rock (they even had the bare-faced cheek to crib lyrics from Take Me To The Other Side), everything was pushed up into the red and played with unwavering tenacity. They could go in any number of directions from here.

#20-16

Review: Radiohead - The King Of Limbs

Radiohead albums; one week you're wondering just when the next one might come along, the following week it's sitting on your laptop. Following 2007's In Rainbows, Radiohead have trumped convention once more with The King Of Limbs; touted as (probably) the "World's First Newspaper Album", and to be released its full grandiose form on May 9 (including, amongst other things, two ten-inch vinyls and 625 pieces of tiny artwork), the album arrived in digital form last Friday with no prior fanfare or warning. But have the band, as with In Rainbows, pulled another rabbit out of the hat, or is The King Of Limbs merely smoke and mirrors?

On first listen, The King Of Limbs sounds both instantly familiar and yet subtly different to prior Radiohead albums; more a reconfiguration of past sounds than a step into the new, TKOL is a neat amalgamation of the past decade's work, pitting the skittish electronics and beats of Amnesiac and even Thom Yorke's  solo outing The Eraser against the warmer textures of In Rainbows. At a time where praise and admiration has been heaped, overzealously perhaps, on James Blake's dubstep-meets-soul, the dubstep influenced sound of TKOL, particularly during it's first half, proves a shrewd decision; Feral, with its cut-and-paste vocals, glitchy beats and restlessly shifting dynamics is particularly effective. The first minute of opener Bloom's complex cyclic drum patterns, tinkling piano and wobbly electronic bleeps feel disconnected at first, but the introduction of Yorke's vocals see these seemingly disparate elements meld together in wonderful fashion. Whether you're listening through a hi-fi or a pair of headphones, TKOL yields different rewards; the former reveals the satisfying room-shaking levels of bass on songs like Morning Mr Magpie whilst the disorientating shrouded vocals on Feral are surely best heard on the latter.

Of course, even Radiohead's more difficult albums have featured moments of almost unparalleled beauty,but on the second half of TKOL, the band may have excelled themselves. Codex is one of those weighty piano ballads which they seem to do so well, made all the more poigniant by molten waves of horns which shimmer under its surface; surely another Pyramid Song in the making? Give Up The Ghost is even lovlier, floating Yorke's haunting vocals over a warm campfire beat and acoustic guitar, before dissolving into the mist. Closing track Separator reprises the circular drum patterns of the album's first half, but allows Johnny Greenwood's guitar to lap gently and lovingly around the track's core.

More experimental than In Rainbows, but better executed than the likes of Amnesiac and Hail To The Thief, The King Of Limbs slots very neatly into the Radiohead canon. Having waited over three years for a new Radiohead release, some might feel short-changed by TKOL's mere eight tracks and 37-minute running time. But for the second time in a row, Radiohead have dropped upon us a fully cohesive album of front-to-back excellence.

87/100

New Radiohead Album The King Of Limbs available THIS Saturday

Radiohead have trumped convention yet again with the announcement of their new record The King Of Limbs. Described as the "World's First Newspaper Album", it can pre-ordered now from this website; the digital form becomes available to download on Saturday 19th, whilst the physical copy will be shipped on the 9th May and will comprise:

• Two clear 10" vinyl records in a purpose-built record sleeve.
• A compact disc.
• Many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradeable plastic to hold it all together.
• Shipping is included in the prices shown.
• One lucky owner of the digital version of The King Of Limbs, purchased from the website, will receive a signed 2 track 12" vinyl.

The full Newspaper album package (including the MP3 digital version) is priced at £30; the digital version can be upgraded to WAV form for an extra £3. For those who prefer functionality over collectability, the digital version can be purchased alone in 320kbps MP3 or WAV form for £6 and £9 respectively.

Exciting news indeed, and after In Rainbows we can fully expect an album with the substance to match its genius premise.