The King Of Limbs
by Radiohead

Mostly with Radiohead albums I give their albums a 3/5 on a first listen and then raise my ratings each time I listen again. It will probably be a similar case with the King of Limbs.
Watch this space!

This album is really overhated, at first I didn't like it either, but after a while it just clicked with me and though it's not their best album, it certainly is really good. Especially the basement version.

Radiohead take a mood-over-melody approach on 'The King Of Limbs' that yields some interesting results, but ultimately pales in comparison to their other output. I love the sort of krautrock-ish instrumentals on a number of these tracks; the shuffling drum loops and softly plucked electric guitar layers remind me of something from a Can record, or Portishead's "Third". The unfortunate side of this is that, unlike the aforementioned influences, Radiohead seem to be at a loss for how to write melodies over these lovely textures. Thom's dispassionate moaning ends up being the weakest element of this album--he seems directionless, crafting melodies that go nowhere and using the same monotonous inflection from track to track. The best moments of this record are the few moments he comes through with a good hook.
The atmosphere of this record is nice to get lost in for the first half, but the album totally drags by the time it gets around to the last couple completely forgettable and uninspired tracks. As a whole, it's alright, but for Radiohead, it's forgettable.

Underrated and under-appreciated, I feel I have to stick up for this record a lot when faced with harsh criticism. It’s an album of two halves with the first focusing on irregular time signatures and abrasive production techniques that pay off the more time you spend with them. However it’s the second half where the album shines with effortless beauty with songs like “Lotus Flower” and “Codex” making the album a must listen.

From C_Krug2009 04/02/2022 19:41 | #283742

This album is great. It is art. I think this album gets a lot of hate and it shouldn't. It's a well done album and it should be praised. It should be in the top 1,000 albums but it would be in my personal top 500 albums haha.

Very under-appreciated album (although to be fair it's still comfortably ranked in the top 500 on this site). I've always enjoyed this album. It's very different to all of their other work. Lotus Flower is one of my favourite Radiohead songs. I also enjoy Bloom and Give Up The Ghost. Codex would fit seamlessly on to Amnesiac/Kid A .

This album is over-hated in Radiohead's discography. It does what it aims to do so well, and though it's not my favorite Radiohead album, it's not a miss by any means.

From VictorVale 10/05/2021 22:31 | #274712

Um pouco difícil de ouvir. Precisa ser escutado algumas vezes para entender..

From teague 09/18/2021 17:27 | #273896

A bit underwhelming. Better than Amnesiac, that's for sure.

The main drawback of this site is that mediocre albums can end up in the top 500 in this site if they have a popular artist's name attached to it (such as Radiohead's TKOL or The Beatles' With the Beatles). This album is far from being one of the best albums of all time and on a good day it's barely a listenable one. The only thing it's good for is putting you to sleep.