The King of Limbs

Released 18th February 2011
I bought it: The day it was released.

Where I was…
Looking at the date, I would have only just been back at work after recovering from an operation that would have a massive effect on my life. And little did I know I was just a couple of months away from meeting my future husband. Quite the crossroads.

What I thought then…
I downloaded it from their website the moment it was announced, so it is possible that I listened to it at work that Friday. However my main memory is walking up Kirkstall Road to Morrisons in the snow on Saturday morning, playing this on my journey. It felt like quite a sparse album compared to its predecessor. I nearly got tickets for that tour, but something in the back of my mind told me these new songs weren’t going to be that thrilling live.

It was quite a fractured campaign too, a short album bookended by various extra tracks being released, nothing really fitting together. Basically, after being deeply in love with In Rainbows, this could not possibly match up, but they’ve never been a band to repeat themselves.

Speaking of meeting my other half a few paragraphs ago, I remember being out on a pub crawl for our second date (yes, really) and Lotus Flower came on. It was massively out of place in this rowdy bar full of pissed Leeds students.

What I think now…
It’s possibly very telling that this is the only Radiohead album I don’t own on CD. Bloom, Morning Mr Magpie and Lotus Flower are all fine additions to the body of work, the rest do not inspire strong feelings. And then came a very long wait. There seems to be a new habit forming of bands splitting only to reunite for some instant nostalgia three or four years later. I like how Radiohead are happy to take their sweet time, owing nothing to nobody. What came next was certainly worth the five years it took.

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We know where you live / Let me hear both sides...