Review of Radiohead's In Rainbows by Mark Pytlik

Today, I read a review of the album In Rainbows from the band Radiohead. Unlike other reviews I have read recently, I very much agree with it. The reviewer, Mark Pytlik, has a remarkably similar opinion to my own. He expresses his slight disappointment in Radiohead for some albums released prior to In Rainbows: Kid A, OK Computer, and Hail to the Thief. Radiohead tried so hard in their beginning years to pull from a very predictable stream of old news in music a beautiful new style that nobody had ever seen. In the beginning, their style was very innovative and they dazzled the industry. Pytlik tells that with each new album, they improved on the last with bright ideas and wonderful surprises. However, by their later albums, their hectic electronica had begun to become old hat. When In Rainbows came out with very little advertisement and glamour, a notion fairly uncharacteristic of their previous albums, their fans were pleasantly surprised. With the sneaky release, Radiohead’s loyal followers had their guard down, ready for another new album with the old flaws. Luckily, Radiohead impressed. The album again put Radiohead ahead of their time. Pytlik states that the band’s most distinguishing quality is their “sudden willingness to embrace their capacity for uncomplicated beauty.”
I heartily agree with almost everything Mark Pytlik has to say about Radiohead. I can’t identify with him completely, though, because I didn’t start my journey with the band as early as he did. By the time I became a fan, Radiohead’s constant innovation was just catching up to them, but had not quite surpassed them, and they were almost old news. However, it was pretty new to me, and I was very impressed by their style. When the new releases were more of the same, I was beginning to feel the same disappointment that the old fans did. Therefore, like them, I was stunned by the sneaky release of In Rainbows.
Mark Pytlik knows a lot more about Radiohead than I do. His review included information about them that made me appreciate the album and the new sound of the band even more. I learned that the singer, Thom Yorke, recently launched his solo career, and that Pytlik thinks Yorke’s venture into new venues may have provided the out for his electronic ideas that cluttered up Radiohead’s old sound. Pytlik thinks that Yorke’s solo work may be the reason for Radiohead’s rebirth, and I agree.
I enjoyed reading Pytlik’s review. He effectively describes how In Rainbows fits into Radiohead’s history and changed their sound hopefully forever. He tells the reader why In Rainbows was so remarkable and why it sold so well. He goes into an in-depth study of the album track by track, and analyzes each one very nicely. He makes comparisons of some of the songs to respected oldies and commends Radiohead for their originality with ties to the classics. If you are interested in listening to the album, or have listened to it before, I highly recommend reading this review. It perfectly summarizes the style of In Rainbows.