“Don’t let the price tag fool you. Or lack thereof. In an age where major record labels greedily sue fans for downloading music, it is refreshing to see a group like Radiohead offer its music for any price. Radiohead’s latest release, In Rainbows, was available in a DRM-Free download Oct.”
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Don’t let the price tag fool you.

Or lack thereof.

In an age where major record labels greedily sue fans for downloading music, it is refreshing to see a group like Radiohead offer its music for any price.

Radiohead’s latest release, In Rainbows, was available in a DRM-Free download Oct. 10 from

www.inrainbows.com. Fans may pay whatever they want, even nothing.

A deluxe box version including a double vinyl disc, book, eight bonus tracks and two CDs will be released in stores the first week of December.

Putting a price on the album would have been impossible, anyway.

Radiohead’s seventh studio album is a collection of tracks that once again sets the band apart from any other mainstream artist.

In typical Radiohead fashion, listeners are swept through a journey of denial, loss, recovery and vulnerability.

Through atmospheric ballads and percussive melodic anthems, Radiohead becomes a storyteller while perfecting its craft.

The opening track, 15 Step, begins with a droning tribal beat accompanied by soft guitars which sets the tone for the rest of the album.

Vocalist Thom Yorke’s lyrical work accentuates the album, providing a defenseless feeling through much of the work.

In Nude, Yorke sings Now that you’ve found it, it’s gone / now that you feel it, you don’t / you’ve gone off the rails. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood’s lullabying guitar work adds a vulnerable mood to the song. Listeners are left feeling emotionally exposed and contemplative.

All I Need is lust-laden, an open-ended plea for sexual gratification. Yorke’s soft vocals are accompanied by piano, building slowly to an atmospheric climax.

Reckoner is a beautiful, powerful song with a melancholy tone. In falsetto voice, Yorke sings, because we separate, it ripples our reflections. Strings and clean guitar tone create a foundation for the frail lyrics.

For as droning and melancholy as the album feels at times, tracks House of Cards and Bodysnatchers provide a steady groove to the album.

In Rainbows closes with Videotape, a proper ending to an album that is best described as a struggling journey through introspection.

The only downside to In Rainbows is that all of the songs have been played live during the band’s previous tours since the last release, Hail to the Thief, in 2003.

Though the material is not completely fresh to most Radiohead fans, hearing the songs recorded helps to get the intended feel for them.

Radiohead continues to re-invent itself in In Rainbows, but is still able to create original songs unparalleled to its mainstream competition.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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