A Moon Shaped Pool
Radiohead and their relentless pursuit of new frontiers in music.
I sat arms crossed with a furrowed brow as I grappled with the annoying truth. I was a Radiohead fan. Not only that, they were probably my favorite band. Those terribly awkward looking British guys with that whiney “Creep” single in the 90’s had won me over. They did it with jaw dropping musicianship and otherworldly talent. They did it with the perfect mix of rawness and class, controlled chaos and ferocious intellect.
Ok Computer (1997) was a 90’s masterpiece of guitar rock and was a clear cut leap in the evolution of Radiohead following Pablo Honey (1993) and The Bends (1995). Then came a seismic shift in the landscape of the band with the release of Kid A (2000). This album was a complete departure from guitar rock and leaned heavily on electronic elements. Songs like “Idioteque” and “Treefingers” are some of the most experimental songs in history.
Radiohead had become a whole new animal entirely. Songs like “Creep” and “Fake Plastic Trees” were now only fossils of a long extinct creature dead and gone. The band had left earth and began their exploration of the audio-verse.
In 2016, Radiohead released their most recent album “A Moon Shaped Pool” and it's one of their best projects since the early 2000’s. The English five piece does one thing very well… whatever the hell they want. They have shown time and time again that they refuse to conform, and that non-conformity is precisely what sets them apart from everyone else. Join me now as we enter the warm waters of Radiohead’s “A Moon Shaped Pool”.
The album begins with “Burn the Witch”. It's frantic, stringy and thumping melody immediately wakes you up like a glass of ice cold water being dumped on you in a deep sleep. Despite the intentionally abrasive nature of the instrumentation, Thom Yorke’s voice is smooth as silk and soothing even as he delivers stressful lines like “this is a low flying panic attack”.
The second piece of the album is titled “Daydreaming”. Looping magical sounds and tiny bells of different pitches suck you into the song immediately. Yorke haunts himself with his own voice over a somber piano riff. He chases himself more and more as the song builds into something I can only describe as a Rated-R-Disney-style soundscape.
Song three is my favorite song on this album. “Decks Dark” begins with twinkling keys that persists again with an effect I would describe as haunting. The opening lyrics are “and into your life there comes a darkness, there's a space craft blocking out the sky and there's nowhere to hide”. It immediately paints a mental image for me. The lyrics in this song are antagonistic and passively aggressive. A concrete foundation is laid by the drums in this song, which builds into a super psychedelic groove. The twinkling keys rise up again and amplify this effect as the lyrics “when you’ve had enough of me, sweet times” takes you to a fade out.
“Desert Island Disk” is the fourth song you experience and it's the perfect acoustic number in the perfect spot on this album. It becomes clear that psychedelic ambience is a theme on this album. In this song though, it's a slower ebb and flow type of effect as opposed to the more active and frantic uses of psychedelia on the previous songs. Like a blue whale slowly lumbering through the ocean. He describes having hope in starting a new life and being “totally alive” which I think was a needed shot of optimism at this point of the album.
“Ful Stop” is all go here on track number five. The tempo picks up considerably compared to the previous songs. It sounds menacing and completely cyberpunk, but does a great job building momentum until the song blooms into something beautiful. High pitched chants of “the truth will mess you up” make up most of the song and it's clear that the instrumentation is what the band wants you to focus on here. Ful Stop is not my favorite song on the album, but it's strength is in its rhythm section, which forces you to sway your head to the beat.
Track six is “Glass Eyes”. This is another keys heavy tune and is the shortest project on the record. It opens with another stellar piano part that has an almost aqueous feel to its ambience. The lyrics open with “Hey it's me, I just got off the train” and again immediately paints a mental image for me. There is another reference to panic attacks here that seems to be a theme for Thom Yorke not only on this album but many of his other efforts as well. Radiohead’s ability to turn stress and anxiety into beautiful pieces of music continues with this tune.
Track seven has the best title, “Identikit”. Johnny Greenwood shines on guitar here, thrashing away late in the song with a sharp and gritty tone that this album really stays away from otherwise. There is almost a swing kind of rhythm which Radiohead has used before on songs like Amnesiac's “Morning Bell”. The sad and somber lyrics started getting to me on this song. I found myself wanting to listen to something more uplifting while listening to this tune. That being said, the vocal melody as he repeats “broken hearts make it rain” is absolutely fantastic and I really enjoyed that aspect of the song.
The eighth track is called “The Numbers” and it's the song I was waiting for on this album. It opens with a fantastic bluesy piano roll accompanied by sharp electronic sounds and what sounds like a rain stick. The lyrics’ are straightforward and unabashedly anti-government. “We call upon the people, the people have this power. The numbers don't decide, the system is a lie”. Instrumentally, this is one of the more simple arrangements and it is undoubtedly effective. A thick and rock steady guitar riff leads this proverbial storming of the castle “one day at a time”.
“Present Tense” is one of the most beautiful songs on the album. It's hopping drum line and super melodic acoustic riff sets a disarming tone. As a show of playful irony, the vocals have a delay effect on them that contradict the title as the past is constantly within ear shot. Or is it to convey a sense of timelessness? As the lyrics “in you, I’m lost” might suggest. This song sparkles from beginning to end with catchiness at all positions of the lineup. It's a contender with “Decks Dark” for my favorite song on the album.
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief” has twelve words in its title and is the tenth track. It starts with a cold and dry composition that slowly melts into a swirling whirlwind of string instruments that make me think of Alice in Wonderland. The lyrics here are just as trippy. “All the holes at once are coming alive, set free… the ones you light your fires to keep away”. I have absolutely no idea what he's talking about about but it’s delightfully creepy and at this point of the record I'm open to anything.
“True Love Waits” brings us to the end of this eleven song journey and it's by far the most haunting song on the album. A lyric like “true love waits in haunted attics” certainly catches your attention, especially in such a hopeful sounding song. The song feels like it has two faces and an eternity's worth of time between them. The bizarre lyrics are sang beautifully over a simple yet effective piano composition that gradually finishes slightly more complex than when it started. I think this song was the perfect finish for the album. It ultimately leaves a sense of unfinished business, and given how “haunting” this album felt, that is fitting.
A Moon Shaped Pool was a blast to listen to and I highly recommend it. If you are bored with your typical music and just need something outside of the box, look no further. Radiohead's extensive catalogue of material has anything and everything you need. From 90’s teenage angst rock to the fully evolved and tremendously complex compositions these guys conjure up today, Radiohead is a gift to music.
Thanks for reading and I would love some recommendations for my next music review!
