A Moon Shaped Pool Review
You could name dozens of popular
artists from the 90s, and only few have had the commercial and critical success
that Radiohead have enjoyed. Then when you think about it, even fewer, if any,
have retained their relevancy for this long. One could say they have become the
masters of disguise and the masters of surprise. For a band where their leader,
Thom Yorke, is constantly cited for shitting all over internet platforms
(Spotify, YouTube), their marketing is very internet savvy. In Rainbows and The King of Limbs, Radiohead’s last two efforts, were released as
surprise albums that had awkward nihilist internet geeks running to their
computers during times where that style of album release had not yet been
popularized (you’re welcome Beyoncé). The same had been done with A Moon Shaped Pool - where Radiohead
erased their internet presence, then released two new songs with coupling music
videos, then the full album – all within a span of a week. Overnight, a
treasure trove of think pieces trying to dissect the album track by track,
showing not only the power Radiohead has over all of us but also their power to
move trends forward.
What may be comforting to some and
not others is that A Moon Shaped Pool
does not hit out of left field and present new abstract sounds for the
listener. In a career where they done absolutely nothing but just that,
Radiohead finally hits the breaks. The
King of Limbs was undoubtedly met with mixed reviews as a highly
experimental, instrument heavy, and headphone friendly compilation of songs
that were rhythmic, upbeat yet fairly distant all at once.
A Moon Shaped Pool is a step back from that approach, and if
anything is reminiscent of In Rainbows. The
album’s intense opener “Burn the Witch” is a pleasing step in the right
direction. It is a welcoming hello to listeners (you know, as welcoming as
Radiohead can be), and it is driven by a staccato orchestral movement that by
the end of the track divulges into total hate-fueled chaos, which couples with
song’s theme of isolationism and fear of outsiders in society. The next song,
“Daydreaming” is a powerful ballad that recalls “Videotape” off of In Rainbows. Violins occasionally build
off of the simple piano movement in
spurts throughout the song, and Yorke’s vocals perfectly couple the somber
beauty of the track’s instruments. It is a hauntingly enchanting song, which
only becomes creepier when you realize the distorted vocals at the end are
actually “half of my life” spoken in reverse, a potential reference to Yorke’s
recent split from his wife of 23 years.
Due to
the vague lyricism of many of these songs that promote double meanings, the
themes of breakup are as likely as anything else within this album, coupling
with its somber stripped down tone. With piano-driven tracks such as “Decks
Dark”, “Glass Eyes”, “Daydreaming” and “True Love Waits”, and the acoustic
guitar led “Desert Island Disk”, “The Numbers” and “Present Tense”, this record
has Radiohead sounding at their most natural and straightforward in years.
One of
the most noteworthy additions to this album is probably “True Love Waits”,
which has had earlier live versions fleshed out by the band dating back to
1995. There, Yorke would stand on stage, alone and wielding an acoustic guitar,
and belt out the chorus as fans flashed lights – “Don’t leave”. The song
originally sounded like a call to mend a relationship, but like the rest of the
songs on this album, it could be taken with a backwards meaning in the context
of Yorke’s own past-relationship – showing how staying together is only for the
purpose of not being alone.
Some
have suggested that the album is not for new listeners to Radiohead, but
besides the typical layering of odd sounds that Radiohead is famous for, this
is some of their most accessible
Fans of
their favorite artists are often disappointed when those artists fail to change
their sound, implying a lack of growth. However, proven in this case by A Moon Shaped Pool, change may not
always be the best thing. Considering
that many of these tracks have been heard or released in some form in the past,
you could make reference after reference to past songs that compare to those on
this record. However, the perfectionists that are Radiohead will not let their
listeners think that similar is not equitable to banal. There is still enough
emotion and mystery punched into lyricism and instrumental to make this record
a unique standout, even among the masterpieces that already cloud Radiohead’s
long discography. For the weeks and months to come, Radiohead fans across will
debacle over where this stands in their prolific canon of work. Without any
argument, however, this typical Radiohead…as typical as Radiohead can be.
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