The wait is over. Its been five long years—the longest span between albums in their entire career—since the band put out its last release, The King of Limbs. The British alt-rockers Radiohead have returned once again with a brand new album. Titled A Moon Shaped Pool, the band's latest work boasts 11 tracks and comprises an array of deep, melodic soundscapes matched by lead singer Thom Yorke's signature, feathery wailing.
In a year marked by interesting and head-scratching record rollouts, the lead-up to the release of this album was particularly unusual. For months, fans sifted through numerous rumors about its existence while the band booked a few high-profile festival gigs around the globe. Then came a cryptic leaflet mailed out to a number of fans, after which Radiohead deleted their online presence entirely. If you visited Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or even their official website, you were greeted with nothing more than a blank, white wall.
Shortly after that shock, the band finally unveiled the album's first single, "Burn The Witch," which was paired with an unsettling stop-motion animation music video. That was followed up in short order by a second single, "Daydreaming," which again came with a peculiar music video. Directed by noted auteur Paul Thomas Anderson, this one followed Yorke as he opened a series of doors that led to increasingly odd locations before he finally settled down beside a fire in a snowy cave.
The buzz from both singles got Radiohead fans, critics, and casual observers extremely excited about the possibilities for the band's ninth album following in the wake of the band's divisive last release The King of Limbs.
A Moon Shaped Pool is streaming and available for download from iTunes here.
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