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Radiohead release new album ‘The King Of Limbs’ early

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Radiohead release new album ‘The King Of Limbs’ early
Radiohead are releasing their new album 'The King Of Limbs' today (February 18). The album contains eight songs and clocks in at 37 minutes long. The follow-up to 2007's 'In Rainbows' had been scheduled to come out tomorrow (19), but the band decided to bring the release date forward by 24 hours. ...

Radiohead are releasing their new album ‘The King Of Limbs’ today (February 18).

The album contains eight songs and clocks in at 37 minutes long.

The follow-up to 2007’s ‘In Rainbows’ had been scheduled to come out tomorrow (19), but the band decided to bring the release date forward by 24 hours. It’s being sent to those who pre-ordered it at Thekingoflimbs.com.

The Oxford five-piece have also posted a new song from the album, ‘Lotus Flower’, on YouTube.

Frontman Thom Yorke had been set to make a broadcast about the new album in Tokyo today, but it was cancelled due to security fears. The broadcast was set to air at Thekingoflimbs.jp instead.

The tracklisting of ‘The King Of Limbs’ is:

‘Bloom’

‘Morning Mr Magpie’

‘Little By Little’

‘Feral’

‘Lotus Flower’

‘Codex’

‘Give Up The Ghost’

‘Separator’

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Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

NEVER LET ME GO

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NEVER LET ME GO
Directed by Mark Romanek Starring Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley Adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, Never Let Me Go initially appears to be another stately piece of Brit heritage drama with its photogenic country house, Keira Knightley and a period setting. But Never Let Me Go gradually rev...

Directed by Mark Romanek

Starring Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley

Adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, Never Let Me Go initially appears to be another stately piece of Brit heritage drama with its photogenic country house, Keira Knightley and a period setting.

But Never Let Me Go gradually reveals itself to be a more subversive undertaking.

This is set in an alternative ’70s where Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan are students at a public school.

There they learn the truth about who they are, and the fate the state has in store for them as adults.

This is sci-fi, then; but of very English sort.

The trio are resigned to what they consider their duty. Mark Romanek adopts a melancholic palette throughout; from the creepy, post-war vibe, to beige rooms and gloomy afternoons.

Knightley bothers to act and is great as Ruth, initially manipulative then driven by a need for atonement.

Garfield excels as the dim-witted Tommy, caught in a love triangle between Knightley and Mulligan.

Despite the grinding bleakness, it’s a tremendous film.

Michael Bonner

GIL SCOTT-HERON & JAMIE T – WE’RE NEW HERE

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GIL SCOTT-HERON & JAMIE T – WE’RE NEW HERE

In 2010, it was impossible to listen to Gil Scot-Heron’s I’m New Here album – his first new work for 16 years, produced by XL records boss Richard Russell – without being reminded of the late recordings of Johnny Cash. Russell, like Rick Rubin before him, understood that the best way to modernise a genius that the music industry didn’t understand any more was to strip away all gimmickry and deliver the essence of what people loved about him in the first place. The difference between Russell and Rick Rubin lay in the sound worlds they used to carry their artists back to basics. For Rubin, it was acoustic guitar and an unplugged aesthetic. For Russell, it was all about making his artist rage against the machines – Scott-Heron’s weathered tones were cast against dark electronics rather than rootsy strummings. When producer and artist met, Scott-Heron had, like Johnny Cash, been pondering his own mortality and legacy, and looking back on his hard-knock life. Politics was replaced by the personal: poignant tributes to the strength of his mother and explorations of emotions unleashed by early poverty, addiction, political activism and jail time, connected by spoken-word transitions that defied any attempts to put the album on random shuffle. I’m New Here felt like the album he was born to make. Now it has an evil twin. Richard Russell suggested that Jamie Smith from Gil’s XL labelmates The xx make a dub version of I’m New Here because the production on their Mercury Prize-winning debut was the major influence on Russell’s work for Scott-Heron. The title neatly encapsulates both the generation and cultural gap between the venerable ghetto descendant and the new white hope and graduate of Putney’s Elliott School, the musical petri dish that has also spawned Hot Chip, Four Tet and Burial. Its from the latter that Smith takes his musical cues here, making a music that is closest in tempo and atmosphere to dubstep. You can’t help but admire the ingenuity of the opener and new version of Bill Callahan’s “I’m New Here” (the original’s only acoustic folk song), as Scott-Heron growls: “I did not become someone different/That I did not want to be/But I’m new here… will you show me around?”, before the first glistening electronic chords crash in, ringing and singing and literally introducing Scott-Heron to a place – street-level British urban noise – where he’s never been before. Soon, Gil is adrift among reverb-drenched chipmunk voices and slo-mo reggae drum machine, getting on famously with dubstep’s blend of sinister noir and dreamy reverie. It’s a stunning start. But We’re New Here is not a straightforward dub version of I’m New Here. 15 tracks become 13 tracks. The running order is messed with. The original’s end track “On Coming From A Broken Home Pt 2” is dispensed with and replaced by extraordinary versions of Scott-Heron’s classic “Home Is Where The Hatred Is” and “My Cloud”, which were both originally vinyl-only bonus tracks. Key spoken-word interludes are chopped up or dispensed with entirely. We’re New Here still tells a tale, but it’s a different, more abstract story to the original’s autobiographical narrative. Musically, Jamie xx treats his commission as the opportunity to explore different styles of dance music. Techno and house riffs, classic soul vocal samples, and dislocated jazz and hip hop breakbeats are woven into what feels like a 36-minute suite, while “NY Is Killing Me” becomes a bizarre blend of dubstep, queasy fairground music and Serge Gainsbourg, all tied together by Scott-Heron’s dubbed-up cries for help. If I’m New Here was a triumph for Russell and Scott-Heron, We’re New Here reveals a maverick production talent in Jamie Smith that his band’s records have only hinted at. Now that Rick Rubin has finally run out of Johnny Cash tunes to release posthumously, he could do worse than let Jamie xx loose on his dark materials. Garry Mulholland Q+A JAMIE XX Whose idea was We’re New Here? Richard Russell’s. He said that the production on the original Gil album was heavily influenced by The xx album. My first reaction was amazement. But I was really, really up for it ’cos I’d been listening to Gil since long before I was making music. It was just an honour to be able to make music with him and meet him. So you worked together in the studio? No. I met him at his gigs and one of our shows and hung out afterwards. He obviously wanted to have serious input and have the final word on everything, so I was writing emails to him. Is Gil as intimidating as he seems? Yeah. There’s a vibe about him that makes him quite hard to talk to: he’s always analysing everything you say. Sending him the music and waiting for his response was a bit nerve-racking. But in the end he didn’t change anything. He’s reached a point in his life when he wants to talk about his personal feelings and his family. INTERVIEW: GARRY MULHOLLAND

In 2010, it was impossible to listen to Gil Scot-Heron’s I’m New Here album – his first new work for 16 years, produced by XL records boss Richard Russell – without being reminded of the late recordings of Johnny Cash. Russell, like Rick Rubin before him, understood that the best way to modernise a genius that the music industry didn’t understand any more was to strip away all gimmickry and deliver the essence of what people loved about him in the first place.

The difference between Russell and Rick Rubin lay in the sound worlds they used to carry their artists back to basics. For Rubin, it was acoustic guitar and an unplugged aesthetic. For Russell, it was all about making his artist rage against the machines – Scott-Heron’s weathered tones were cast against dark electronics rather than rootsy strummings.

When producer and artist met, Scott-Heron had, like Johnny Cash, been pondering his own mortality and legacy, and looking back on his hard-knock life. Politics was replaced by the personal: poignant tributes to the strength of his mother and explorations of emotions unleashed by early poverty, addiction, political activism and jail time, connected by spoken-word transitions that defied any attempts to put the album on random shuffle. I’m New Here felt like the album he was born to make. Now it has an evil twin.

Richard Russell suggested that Jamie Smith from Gil’s XL labelmates The xx make a dub version of I’m New Here because the production on their Mercury Prize-winning debut was the major influence on Russell’s work for Scott-Heron. The title neatly encapsulates both the generation and cultural gap between the venerable ghetto descendant and the new white hope and graduate of Putney’s Elliott School, the musical petri dish that has also spawned Hot Chip, Four Tet and Burial. Its from the latter that Smith takes his musical cues here, making a music that is closest in tempo and atmosphere to dubstep.

You can’t help but admire the ingenuity of the opener and new version of Bill Callahan’s “I’m New Here” (the original’s only acoustic folk song), as Scott-Heron growls: “I did not become someone different/That I did not want to be/But I’m new here… will you show me around?”, before the first glistening electronic chords crash in, ringing and singing and literally introducing Scott-Heron to a place – street-level British urban noise – where he’s never been before. Soon, Gil is adrift among reverb-drenched chipmunk voices and slo-mo reggae drum machine, getting on famously with dubstep’s blend of sinister noir and dreamy reverie. It’s a stunning start.

But We’re New Here is not a straightforward dub version of I’m New Here. 15 tracks become 13 tracks. The running order is messed with. The original’s end track “On Coming From A Broken Home Pt 2” is dispensed with and replaced by extraordinary versions of Scott-Heron’s classic “Home Is Where The Hatred Is” and “My Cloud”, which were both originally vinyl-only bonus tracks. Key spoken-word interludes are chopped up or dispensed with entirely. We’re New Here still tells a tale, but it’s a different, more abstract story to the original’s autobiographical narrative.

Musically, Jamie xx treats his commission as the opportunity to explore different styles of dance music. Techno and house riffs, classic soul vocal samples, and dislocated jazz and hip hop breakbeats are woven into what feels like a 36-minute suite, while “NY Is Killing Me” becomes a bizarre blend of dubstep, queasy fairground music and Serge Gainsbourg, all tied together by Scott-Heron’s dubbed-up cries for help.

If I’m New Here was a triumph for Russell and Scott-Heron, We’re New Here reveals a maverick production talent in Jamie Smith that his band’s records have only hinted at. Now that Rick Rubin has finally run out of Johnny Cash tunes to release posthumously, he could do worse than let Jamie xx loose on his dark materials.

Garry Mulholland

Q+A JAMIE XX

Whose idea was We’re New Here?

Richard Russell’s. He said that the production on the original Gil album was heavily influenced by The xx album. My first reaction was amazement. But I was really, really up for it ’cos I’d been listening to Gil since long before I was making music. It was just an honour to be able to make music with him and meet him.

So you worked together in the studio?

No. I met him at his gigs and one of our shows and hung out afterwards. He obviously wanted to have serious input and have the final word on everything, so I was writing emails to him.

Is Gil as intimidating as he seems?

Yeah. There’s a vibe about him that makes him quite hard to talk to: he’s always analysing everything you say. Sending him the music and waiting for his response was a bit nerve-racking. But in the end he didn’t change anything. He’s reached a point in his life when he wants to talk about his personal feelings and his family.

INTERVIEW: GARRY MULHOLLAND

THE LOW ANTHEM – SMART FLESH

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THE LOW ANTHEM – SMART FLESH

There’s an old Buddhist proverb that goes something like this: “Before you speak, ask yourself, ‘Will it improve upon the silence?’” It’s not a question you can imagine, say, Robbie Williams pondering at length. But it sounds very much like the kind of question Rhode Island’s Low Anthem asked themselves before embarking on Smart Flesh, the follow-up to their breakthrough album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. A rootsy evocation of mythical America brimming with banjo, pump organ and a wonderful tumble of voices, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin was pitched somewhere between Fleet Foxes, Little Walter and Walt Whitman. Self-released in 2008, one year and a clutch of swooning reviews later it was remixed, re-ordered and reissued to enormous acclaim. Smart Flesh, then, is the first Low Anthem album to be released into a spotlight rather than a vacuum. It would have been no surprise had the sound expanded to suit the increased dimensions of their appeal, becoming fuller and fatter. Instead, bravely and rather magnificently, they have retreated into something close to silence. The first thing you notice about Smart Flesh is that the rattling garage-blues stampede which characterised songs like “Home I’ll Never Be” and “The Horizon Is A Beltway” is absent. The explanation lies in how the album was made. Much of Smart Flesh was recorded in a vast, abandoned pasta sauce factory in Central Falls, Rhode Island, and the band manipulate the unique sound of the space on almost every track: notes are struck and then slowly decay until what you’re hearing isn’t music but its memory. Opener “Ghost Woman Blues” is more of a suggestion than a song, a spectral incantation unfolding slowly over acoustic piano and lonely woodwind. “I’ll Take Out Your Ashes” uses just stringy banjo to lament a man “beyond all repair”, while “Love And Altar”, where Ben Knox Miller reprises the startlingly pure falsetto first heard on “Charlie Darwin”, sounds suspended in thin air, supported only by the barest strum. It’s all stunningly beautiful. Now a four-piece, with Jocie Adams and Mat Davidson added to the original core of Knox Miller and Jeff Prystowsky, not only has the band’s sound palette expanded but their influences are more diverse. The pump organ and woodwind creaks of the almost static instrumental “Wire” stray into late Talk Talk territory. “Matter Of Time” takes the melody of Donovan’s “To Sing For You” and stretches it out slowly, creating an unsettling lullaby. “Burn” owes much to Leonard Cohen’s early albums, with the same grimly poetic observations declaimed in 3/4 time over a throbbing backing of Jew’s harp and organ. Only two tracks puncture these reveries: the raw, rather workmanlike country-rock barrage of “Hey, All You Hippies!” and the stunning “Boeing 737”, a mighty artillery of sound reminiscent of Arcade Fire at their most uplifting. “Apothecary Love”, meanwhile, ticks along nicely, an easy country waltz – “first she shot me with whisky then she chased me with gin” – with echoes of Gram Parsons’ “The New Soft Shoe”, or perhaps a less tongue-in-cheek take on The Stones’ “Dear Doctor”. The lyrical preoccupations are oblique but death is never far away. “Golden Cattle” is positively hymnal, touching the divine with its talk of “the next life”, while “Boeing 737” seems to revisit 9/11 with lines about “prophets and heaven” and being “in the air when the towers came down”. The seven-minute title track is even more unsparing – “In the end you’ll be alone, for lonely death does creep” – but it’s the one song where an understated arrangement exerts an inertia; what could have been a colourful, carnivalesque finale barely catches light. That disappointment aside, this hushed crawl of a record is anything but tentative. The sounds on Smart Flesh may be muted, but there is power and daring in its pursuit of stillness. File under: a quiet storm. Graeme Thomson Q+A Ben Knox Miller Smart Flesh sounds like the ultimate expression of your more reflective side. The sound of the room is so important to this record. We made it in this cavernous place, and we thought of the room as the main instrument. A lot of our sound is based in the way noise fades. We had designs to do a few more abrasive songs but they seemed to fall flat, the sound was too murky. When we find ourselves in another space everything is on the table again. Was it a smooth process? We thought the record was done when we came out of the session in the pasta sauce factory, but we ended up being unhappy with it. We moved the studio into another building, a garage-y sounding room which trapped the energy in a different way. We recorded another 10 songs there in two weeks, and all of a sudden there was another dynamic to the record. After the success of OMGCD, were you aware of increased expectations? I’ve tried not to think too much about it. We’re heady enough already! I’m much more concerned with the craft than how it is received in the world. That’s a separate thing. INTERVIEW: GRAEME THOMSON

There’s an old Buddhist proverb that goes something like this: “Before you speak, ask yourself, ‘Will it improve upon the silence?’” It’s not a question you can imagine, say, Robbie Williams pondering at length.

But it sounds very much like the kind of question Rhode Island’s Low Anthem asked themselves before embarking on Smart Flesh, the follow-up to their breakthrough album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. A rootsy evocation of mythical America brimming with banjo, pump organ and a wonderful tumble of voices, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin was pitched somewhere between Fleet Foxes, Little Walter and Walt Whitman. Self-released in 2008, one year and a clutch of swooning reviews later it was remixed, re-ordered and reissued to enormous acclaim.

Smart Flesh, then, is the first Low Anthem album to be released into a spotlight rather than a vacuum. It would have been no surprise had the sound expanded to suit the increased dimensions of their appeal, becoming fuller and fatter. Instead, bravely and rather magnificently, they have retreated into something close to silence.

The first thing you notice about Smart Flesh is that the rattling garage-blues stampede which characterised songs like “Home I’ll Never Be” and “The Horizon Is A Beltway” is absent. The explanation lies in how the album was made. Much of Smart Flesh was recorded in a vast, abandoned pasta sauce factory in Central Falls, Rhode Island, and the band manipulate the unique sound of the space on almost every track: notes are struck and then slowly decay until what you’re hearing isn’t music but its memory. Opener “Ghost Woman Blues” is more of a suggestion than a song, a spectral incantation unfolding slowly over acoustic piano and lonely woodwind. “I’ll Take Out Your Ashes” uses just stringy banjo to lament a man “beyond all repair”, while “Love And Altar”, where Ben Knox Miller reprises the startlingly pure falsetto first heard on “Charlie Darwin”, sounds suspended in thin air, supported only by the barest strum. It’s all stunningly beautiful.

Now a four-piece, with Jocie Adams and Mat Davidson added to the original core of Knox Miller and Jeff Prystowsky, not only has the band’s sound palette expanded but their influences are more diverse. The pump organ and woodwind creaks of the almost static instrumental “Wire” stray into late Talk Talk territory. “Matter Of Time” takes the melody of Donovan’s “To Sing For You” and stretches it out slowly, creating an unsettling lullaby. “Burn” owes much to Leonard Cohen’s early albums, with the same grimly poetic observations declaimed in 3/4 time over a throbbing backing of Jew’s harp and organ.

Only two tracks puncture these reveries: the raw, rather workmanlike country-rock barrage of “Hey, All You Hippies!” and the stunning “Boeing 737”, a mighty artillery of sound reminiscent of Arcade Fire at their most uplifting. “Apothecary Love”, meanwhile, ticks along nicely, an easy country waltz – “first she shot me with whisky then she chased me with gin” – with echoes of Gram Parsons’ “The New Soft Shoe”, or perhaps a less tongue-in-cheek take on The Stones’ “Dear Doctor”. The lyrical preoccupations are oblique but death is never far away. “Golden Cattle” is positively hymnal, touching the divine with its talk of “the next life”, while “Boeing 737” seems to revisit 9/11 with lines about “prophets and heaven” and being “in the air when the towers came down”. The seven-minute title track is even more unsparing – “In the end you’ll be alone, for lonely death does creep” – but it’s the one song where an understated arrangement exerts an inertia; what could have been a colourful, carnivalesque finale barely catches light.

That disappointment aside, this hushed crawl of a record is anything but tentative. The sounds on Smart Flesh may be muted, but there is power and daring in its pursuit of stillness. File under: a quiet storm.

Graeme Thomson

Q+A Ben Knox Miller

Smart Flesh sounds like the ultimate expression of your more reflective side.

The sound of the room is so important to this record. We made it in this cavernous place, and we thought of the room as the main instrument. A lot of our sound is based in the way noise fades. We had designs to do a few more abrasive songs but they seemed to fall flat, the sound was too murky. When we find ourselves in another space everything is on the table again.

Was it a smooth process?

We thought the record was done when we came out of the session in the pasta sauce factory, but we ended up being unhappy with it. We moved the studio into another building, a garage-y sounding room which trapped the energy in a different way. We recorded another 10 songs there in two weeks, and all of a sudden there was another dynamic to the record.

After the success of OMGCD, were you aware of increased expectations?

I’ve tried not to think too much about it. We’re heady enough already! I’m much more concerned with the craft than how it is received in the world. That’s a separate thing.

INTERVIEW: GRAEME THOMSON

Radiohead: “King Of Limbs”

John Mulvey
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OK we're downloading "King Of Limbs" now, and I think we're going to have a go at liveblogging it as we go. Join in,won't you? Bit of fiddling with wires going on here, but I think we're just about ready to rock. Bit of an accident with a banana slowed us down for a moment. Curses! NME are about a minute ahead of us. John Robinson says he's "agreed to something" and is importing now. We're off! tinkling piano loop and heavily chopped edits, sounds like someone's Warp subscription brought them a couple of Flying Lotus records last year. "Bloom", by the way. I was playing "In Rainbows" this morning, and I was reminded how much one of the highlights of that album is the drumming. Feeling it again here. As on "Lotus Flower", Yorke feels subtly processed. Liking this a lot. Wow, dense. A lot of layered orchestral passages now, pretty amazing. Just looked at the tracklisting - quite a short album. Eight tracks, as rumoured, but nothing longer than 5 minutes 20. Anyone else got this yet? "Morning Mr Magpie" has identifiable guitars, and this kind of ominous funk undertow. Lots of looming, ascending atmospherics kicking in now. I'm going to say the vibe thus far is a kind of beatific hyperactivity. Apologies if I'm getting carried away by the whole Eventness of this, but fucking hell it's good, and I write as someone who was pretty equivocal about Radiohead until "In Rainbows". Maybe I'm just a sucker for internet kerfuffle. "Little By Little". Some kind of eldritch jangle going on here, awkwardly tuning, very fragile-sounding, accentuated by the radical editing that seems to be going on. Again, I'm feeling Flying Lotus (who I've just recalled had Thom Yorke on "Cosmogramma"). Maybe Prefuse, too: those LA aesthetic beatmakers that I guess he may have been mixing with during the Atoms For Peace thing. A hint of older Radiohead in this one, as it evolves, like some ghostly, fidgety evocation of something from "OK Computer". Again, though, they seem to be obsessively - and fruitfully, I'd say - pulling back from any obvious anthemics. The power is insidious, cumulative, anything but blustery. "Feral" now. Back to the sliding breaks, super-neurotic rhythms. Yorke's voice is ultra-processed and disorienting. I feel somewhat obliged to mention dubstep at this point - Burial's dystopian soundscapes yada yada - but really they seem much more locked into that evolving Warp continuum, rooted back in their love for Autechre. I know this one, it's that old favourite, "Lotus Flower". Lotus, Flying Lotus - am I being a bit of a stuck record here? It's the hit. I think one of the things I liked about "In Rainbows" was how Yorke's voice seemed more relaxed, less self-conscious, less histrionic. He really sounds soulful here. Interesting how hooky the song sounds second time round. Is it closer to the vibe of "The Eraser", perhaps? "Codex" starting as the obligatory piano ballad, but there's all this subtle processing going on, which'll doubtless bed in on future listens. Apologies for not mentioning any of the lyrics, by the way; I'll try and keep updating this as the day goes on and we listen to the record some, maybe in a less superficial way. Again, ten years ago "Codex" would have been so pumped up, so fraught with a sense of its own importance. Now the way Radiohead seem to approach everything is to keep their music on such a discreet level, with microscopic tonal shifts providing a more mature and satisfying kind of drama. Greenwoodish orchestrations I think. "Give Up The Ghost" seems to start with a kind of blossoming, twittering microscape, then evolves into a miraculously understated acoustic guitar ballad. Again, it's the lovely subtlety that comes through. John Robinson has just mentioned Can, say "Sing Swan Song", which is rather wise. Just thinking about the whole subtlety thing some more; of course that can be a marketing tool, hence the whole 'no-fuss' announcement and release of "King Of Limbs" this week resulting in this whole fuss. It's like a way of shifting responsibility of portentousness from yourself to your fans and your commentators. Let others do the anthemic work for you. Wow, last track already. "Separator", very nimble drums and bass, very intuitive, Robinson has me stuck on Can and remembering how Jonny Greenwood has interspersed his "Norwegian Wood" soundtrack with Can tracks. Lovely delicate electric guitar threading through this now. Think this one's going to end up very memorable, again in such a powerfully understated way. The atmospheric reverberations now that loom in and out throughout the album are making me think of '80s Eno now, but "King Of Limbs" couldn't be more different from the way Eno has subsequently addressed rock music. And it's over already. Very, very good is first hunch; I managed to really enjoy that while typing like a lunatic - I hope I've made some kind of sense. One thing that occurs, right now, is that those who might have been looking for Radiohead as quote/unquote saviours of rock in a mainstream environment where rock bands can't get arrested right now, are probably looking in the wrong place. For a start, there aren't that many obvious guitars on "King Of Limbs". If you're a music business executive hoping that Radiohead will have made a record to inspire a new generation of guitar bands to take on the mainstream, usurp the dread hordes of X Factor or however you choose to demonise chart pop today - you won't be in luck. What Radiohead have done again, I think, is make a record that will open up a lot of minds to the possibilities of music, and especially way beyond the mainstream. They're an international phenomenon who have built a platform from which they can disseminate avant-garde ideas, in a deviously uncompromising way. Which is not to say that "King Of Limbs" is a particularly difficult or inaccessible record, it's just one that's heroically disdainful of what normative behaviour among major rock groups is perceived to be. A few years ago Peter Buck, I think, started called REM "the acceptable edge of the unacceptable". If ever a band deserved that label - as an adventurous positive, rather than a compromised pejorative - it feels like Radiohead today. Think I might play it again, anyhow. I daren't read back what I've written thus far; hopefully, it makes some kind of sense. - I'm not going to do all that again for the second listen, but thanks for your support on this, and thanks for the very perceptive comment from Cetin Cem about it being a Colin Greenwood record, with the bass being so prominent. I always imagine Radiohead as a kind of instrumental democracy, with people swapping instruments a lot, so I'd be wary of drawing such delineations, but I'm not really an expert. Also aware, though, that I'm not always 100 per cent sure what I'm hearing on these records; the treatment being so intense of every sound. A recurrent line on "Little By Little": "I'm such a tease and you're such a flirt". I wonder if we're going to get bandmembers dancing in videos for every track, as with "Lotus Flower"? If so, whoever drew "Feral" may have got their work cut out. Strikes me I should repost the "Lotus Flower" vid here, for the sake of completeness. [youtube]cfOa1a8hYP8[/youtube] "Give Up The Ghost" is just wonderful second time. Has the same kind of valedictory vibe as "House Of Cards", but, like so much here, an ethereal pull, too. While I think about it, I should also mention that we have an interview with Jonny Greenwood in the next issue of Uncut. Out sometime next week, I believe.

OK we’re downloading “King Of Limbs” now, and I think we’re going to have a go at liveblogging it as we go. Join in,won’t you?

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Radiohead: “Lotus Flower”

John Mulvey
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0

Really seems churlish not to join in with today's shenanigans. Judging by this, looking like justifiable use of hype. [youtube]cfOa1a8hYP8[/youtube] Liking it. Let me know what you think, especially if your album's turned up.

Really seems churlish not to join in with today’s shenanigans. Judging by this, looking like justifiable use of hype.

Continue

Aretha Franklin announces live return following hospitalisation

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Aretha Franklin announces live return following hospitalisation
Aretha Franklin is to make her live comeback in May. Last month the soul legend [url=http://www.nme.com/news/aretha-franklin/54470]said she was on the mend after being diagnosed with an undisclosed illness[/url]. Now she has announced she will return to the stage at Buffalo's Niagara Casino on May ...

Aretha Franklin is to make her live comeback in May.

Last month the soul legend [url=http://www.nme.com/news/aretha-franklin/54470]said she was on the mend after being diagnosed with an undisclosed illness[/url]. Now she has announced she will return to the stage at Buffalo‘s Niagara Casino on May 28, reports BBC News.

Last November she cancelled all live appearances for six months on her doctor’s advice, but last month said that her medical problem had been “resolved”.

It had been reported that she was suffering from pancreatic cancer, although Franklin has not disclosed details of her illness herself.

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

The Horrors to release new album in July

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The Horrors to release new album in July
The Horrors will release their third album this July, according to frontman Faris Badwan. Badwan responded to a forum post on Thehorrors.co.uk, which speculated that the release date for the band's new album had been delayed following the launch of his new band Cat's Eyes. In the post, entitled 'A...

The Horrors will release their third album this July, according to frontman Faris Badwan.

Badwan responded to a forum post on Thehorrors.co.uk, which speculated that the release date for the band’s new album had been delayed following the launch of his new band Cat’s Eyes.

In the post, entitled ‘Album delayed?’, Badwan replied to the speculation by simply writing, ‘JULY’.

The frontman had previously said he wants The Horrors to co-exist alongside Cat’s Eyes, who release their debut album on April 11.

The new record was produced by the band in London, and will be the follow-up to their second album, 2009’s ‘Primary Colours’.

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Elbow to play Glastonbury 2011?

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Elbow to play Glastonbury 2011?
Elbow's Guy Garvey has strongly hinted his band will play this year's Glastonbury festival. Although they haven't been confirmed for the June 24-26 bash, Garvey told BBC Newsbeat that Elbow will be playing UK festivals this year, and went on to reference Glastonbury. "I'm not sure what I'm allowed...

Elbow‘s Guy Garvey has strongly hinted his band will play this year’s Glastonbury festival.

Although they haven’t been confirmed for the June 24-26 bash, Garvey told BBC Newsbeat that Elbow will be playing UK festivals this year, and went on to reference Glastonbury.

“I’m not sure what I’m allowed to tell you and what I’m not,” he said when asked about the festival. “We are definitely going to be playing some festivals in the UK. All the best ones, let’s put it that way.”

Speaking about one of this year’s Glastonbury headliners, Beyonce, Garvey said: “Glastonbury is the best festival in the world year on year and they know what they are doing. If they chose Beyonce to close it’s because they know it’ll be a fantastic finish.”

Elbow release their new album, ‘Build A Rocket Boys!’, on March 7. The band last played Glastonbury in 2008.

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The Sixth Uncut Playlist Of 2011

John Mulvey
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Yet another period of quietness to apologise for, though I do have the excuse this week of having been away working in the States. More about that later, and, hopefully, some more proper blogs next week. Maybe we should start with Radiohead and “King Of Limbs”, do you think? Plenty to get your teeth into on this playlist, as you can see: About Group, if you didn’t know, features Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip) mixing it with Charles Hayward (This Heat) and John Coxon (Spring Heel Jack), among other people. In common with a lot of things here, their album isn’t out for a couple of months at least, which is one good reason why, unfortunately, it’d be hard for us to compile the sort of Spotify playlists that a few of you have been requesting I can totally recommend, though, that you head over to Wolfgang’s Vault, where you can listen to the sensational Terry Riley concert listed below in its entirety, right down to the musicians being introduced. 1. Zomes – Earth Grid (Thrill Jockey) 2. The Strokes – Under Cover Of Darkness (Rough Trade) 3. Moon Duo – Mazes (Souterrain Transmissions) 4. Cat’s Eyes – Cat’s Eyes (Polydor) 5. The Dictators – Manifest Destiny/Blood Brothers (Floating World) 6. Pantha Du Prince – XI Versions Of Black Noise (Rough Trade) 7. Terry Riley – Great American Music Hall 4/23/1983 (Wolfgang’s Vault) 8. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Bella Union) 9. Trembling Bells – The Constant Pageant (Honest Jon’s) 10. EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints (Souterrain Transmissions) 11. Mickey Newbury – An American Trilogy (Sampler) (Saint Cecelia Knows/Mountain Retreat) 12 About Group – Start And Complete (Domino)

Yet another period of quietness to apologise for, though I do have the excuse this week of having been away working in the States. More about that later, and, hopefully, some more proper blogs next week. Maybe we should start with Radiohead and “King Of Limbs”, do you think?

Continue

Yoko Ono to speak at SXSW festival

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Yoko Ono to speak at SXSW festival
Yoko Ono is to be a featured speaker at this year’s South By Southwest festival in Austin. Ono will speak on March 18 and answer questions about her career, her art and her marriage to John Lennon. She will also perform at the festival on the following day at the Chimera Music night at the Elysiu...

Yoko Ono is to be a featured speaker at this year’s South By Southwest festival in Austin.

Ono will speak on March 18 and answer questions about her career, her art and her marriage to John Lennon. She will also perform at the festival on the following day at the Chimera Music night at the Elysium venue.

Featured speakers at the Texan festival in the past have included Jarvis Cocker, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, The Clash’s Mick Jones and Lou Reed.

The music arm of SXSW runs from March 15–20 across venues in the city. Bands already confirmed to play this year include Yuck, The Naked And Famous and The Vaccines.

See Sxsw.com for more information.

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The Strokes announce Madison Square Garden gig

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The Strokes announce Madison Square Garden gig
The Strokes will play New York's Madison Square Garden on April 1. Frontman Julian Casablancas made the announcement on his Twitter page, Twitter.com/casablancas_j. Tickets are set to go on sale on February 25. According to chiefs at the band's management company, tweeting from Twitter.com/wizkidm...

The Strokes will play New York‘s Madison Square Garden on April 1.

Frontman Julian Casablancas made the announcement on his Twitter page, Twitter.com/casablancas_j. Tickets are set to go on sale on February 25.

According to chiefs at the band’s management company, tweeting from Twitter.com/wizkidmgmt, world tour dates could be announced in late March or early April.

A post on the feed also suggests that the band could be making an appearance at Austin‘s South By Southwest festival next month.

The Strokes‘ comeback song, ‘Under Cover Of Darkness’, was recently released as a free download. Their new album ‘Angles’ is out on March 21.

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Arcade Fire big winners at Brit Awards

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Arcade Fire big winners at Brit Awards
Arcade Fire and Tinie Tempah were the biggest winners at tonight's (February 15) Brit Awards – taking home two gongs each. The Canadian band scooped International Group and International Album (for 'The Suburbs') at the London O2 Arena ceremony, which was hosted by James Corden. Meanwhile, Tinie...

Arcade Fire and Tinie Tempah were the biggest winners at tonight’s (February 15) Brit Awards – taking home two gongs each.

The Canadian band scooped International Group and International Album (for ‘The Suburbs’) at the London O2 Arena ceremony, which was hosted by James Corden.

Meanwhile, Tinie Tempah took home the prizes for British Breakthrough Act and British Single for ‘Pass Out’.

Mumford and Sons won the MasterCard British Album Of The Year prize for ‘Sigh No More’, while Laura Marling was the surprise winner of the British Female Solo Artist award.

Elsewhere, Take That won the British Group gong for the first time in their career after opening the show with a performance of their latest single ‘Kidz’.

Plan B walked away with the British Male Solo Artist prize and also played a medley of tracks from the ‘The Defamation Of Strickland Banks’, a performance which saw a stuntman set on fire.

Rihanna won the International Female prize before performing her own medley of hits. US singer Cee Lo Green scooped the male equivalent of the award before closing the show with his UK Number One single ‘Forget You’, which saw him duet with Paloma Faith.

Other winners on the night included Justin Bieber, who took home the International Breakthrough prize, and Jessie J, who collected her Critics’ Choice award.

Adele, who wasn’t nominated for any awards, performed ‘Someone Like You’, a track from her latest album ’21’, during the show.

See Brits.co.uk for more information.

The full list of winners from the Brit Awards 2011 is:

MasterCard Album Of The Year: Mumford and Sons – ‘Sigh No More’

British Band: Take That

British Single: Tinie Tempah – ‘Pass Out’

British Male Solo Artist: Plan B

British Female Solo Artist: Laura Marling

British Breakthrough Act: Tinie Tempah

International Album: Arcade Fire – ‘The Suburbs’

International Group: Arcade Fire

International Male Solo Artist: Cee Lo Green

International Female Solo Artist: Rihanna

International Breakthrough: Justin Bieber

Critics’ Choice: Jessie J

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Radiohead’s new album to feature eight tracks?

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Radiohead’s new album to feature eight tracks?
Radiohead's new album 'The King Of Limbs' is being tipped to feature an eight-song tracklisting. According to fansite Ateaseweb.com the Japanese arm of the band's album sales website, Thekingoflimbbs.jp, provided the information. The download and CD versions of the record offered through the 'newsp...

Radiohead‘s new album ‘The King Of Limbs’ is being tipped to feature an eight-song tracklisting.

According to fansite Ateaseweb.com the Japanese arm of the band’s album sales website, Thekingoflimbbs.jp, provided the information. The download and CD versions of the record offered through the ‘newspaper album’ version of the release were reportedly listed as containing eight tracks.

The information has now been removed from the site. If it is true this would make ‘The King Of Limbs’ the Radiohead album containing the least amount of songs to date.

The album will be released as a paid-for download on Saturday (February 19), then on CD and 12-inch vinyl on March 28. The ‘newspaper album’ version, featuring a CD, vinyl and artwork sheets, will be out on May 9.

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Coldplay confirmed to headline Glastonbury

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Coldplay confirmed to headline Glastonbury
Glastonbury festival organiser Michael Eavis has confirmed that Coldplay will headline the 2011 event. It had already been widely reported that Chris Martin and co were to play the June event, but now Eavis has confirmed the booking. He told the festival's official website, Glastonburyfestivals.c...

Glastonbury festival organiser Michael Eavis has confirmed that Coldplay will headline the 2011 event.

It had already been widely reported that Chris Martin and co were to play the June event, but now Eavis has confirmed the booking.

He told the festival’s official website, Glastonburyfestivals.co.uk, that they would headline the Pyramid Stage on the Saturday (June 25) of the festival. It will be the first time they’ve played the event since they headlined the same stage in 2005, having also done so in 2002.

“Coldplay have played such a major part in the festival over the last 10 years or so,” Eavis said. “As their popularity grew around the world I was so proud of them. This is the triumphant return of a band that everyone here feels part of. They’re one of the greatest phenomena to grow from these fields.”

Beyonce is also set to play a headline slot at the event, while U2, who pulled out of the 2010 event after singer Bono injured his back, are likely to be the third headliners.

Glastonbury 2011 takes place at Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset. Billed music takes place on June 24-26, with the site opening on June 22.

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Julien Temple directing Marvin Gaye biopic

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Julien Temple directing Marvin Gaye biopic

Director Julien Temple is set to make a biopic about Marvin Gaye – set to be titled Midnight Love or Sexual Healing. EMI, which owns the rights to the late soul singer's music, has given the production the go-ahead. Shooting is set to start in Ostend, Belgium later this year, reports Screendaily.com. The plot will be inspired by the 'Midnight Love' album, which Gaye recorded in Brussels and released in 1982. It was his last studio album – the singer died in 1984. 'Sexual Healing' was the big hit single from that album. Frederick Bestall of the Auric Entertainment company is producing the film. Producer Jimmy De Brabant is also on board, as is Jean-Luc Van Damme of Banana Films. Temple's previous music documentary credits include 2007's Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, 2006's Glastonburyand 2000's The Filth And The Fury. Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Director Julien Temple is set to make a biopic about Marvin Gaye – set to be titled Midnight Love or Sexual Healing.

EMI, which owns the rights to the late soul singer’s music, has given the production the go-ahead. Shooting is set to start in Ostend, Belgium later this year, reports Screendaily.com.

The plot will be inspired by the ‘Midnight Love’ album, which Gaye recorded in Brussels and released in 1982. It was his last studio album – the singer died in 1984.

‘Sexual Healing’ was the big hit single from that album.

Frederick Bestall of the Auric Entertainment company is producing the film. Producer Jimmy De Brabant is also on board, as is Jean-Luc Van Damme of Banana Films.

Temple‘s previous music documentary credits include 2007’s Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, 2006’s Glastonburyand 2000’s The Filth And The Fury.

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Radiohead to release new album ‘The King Of Limbs’ on Saturday (February 19)

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Radiohead to release new album ‘The King Of Limbs’ on Saturday (February 19)

Radiohead are releasing their new album 'The King Of Limbs' on Saturday (February 19). The band announced the news on their official website, Radiohead.com, this morning (February 14). It is available to order online at Thekingoflimbs.com. The record will be available as a download from Saturday, then released physically on May 9 as what the band are billing as a 'newspaper album'. The 'newspaper album' package will contain 'The King Of Limbs' on CD, two 10-inch vinyl records and artwork sheets. Those who buy the set will also receive the album as a download on Saturday. The album will be the band's first since 2007's 'In Rainbows', which they released as a pay-what-you-like download. The name of the new album relates to an oak tree in Wiltshire's Savernake Forest, thought to be around 1,000 years old. The forest lies around three miles away from Tottenham House, a listed country house where Radiohead recorded part of 'In Rainbows'. The tree is a pollarded oak, referring to an ancient technique for harvesting timber for fencing and firewood. The phrase also appears in the 23rd chapter of the Qu'ran. Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk. Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Radiohead are releasing their new album ‘The King Of Limbs’ on Saturday (February 19).

The band announced the news on their official website, Radiohead.com, this morning (February 14). It is available to order online at Thekingoflimbs.com.

The record will be available as a download from Saturday, then released physically on May 9 as what the band are billing as a ‘newspaper album’.

The ‘newspaper album’ package will contain ‘The King Of Limbs’ on CD, two 10-inch vinyl records and artwork sheets. Those who buy the set will also receive the album as a download on Saturday.

The album will be the band’s first since 2007’s ‘In Rainbows’, which they released as a pay-what-you-like download.

The name of the new album relates to an oak tree in Wiltshire‘s Savernake Forest, thought to be around 1,000 years old. The forest lies around three miles away from Tottenham House, a listed country house where Radiohead recorded part of ‘In Rainbows’.

The tree is a pollarded oak, referring to an ancient technique for harvesting timber for fencing and firewood. The phrase also appears in the 23rd chapter of the Qu’ran.

Latest music and film news on Uncut.co.uk.

Uncut have teamed up with Sonic Editions to curate a number of limited-edition framed iconic rock photographs, featuring the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan and The Clash. View the full collection here.

Arcade Fire, Muse, Eminem win at the Grammy Awards

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Arcade Fire, Muse, Eminem win at the Grammy Awards
Jay-Z, Eminem, Arcade Fire, Muse and La Roux all picked up honours at last night's (February 13) Grammy Awards. Scroll down and click below for the full list of who won what. The night’s biggest winners were country pop act Lady Antebellum. The Nashville band took home five awards, including hon...

Jay-Z, Eminem, Arcade Fire, Muse and La Roux all picked up honours at last night’s (February 13) Grammy Awards.

Scroll down and click below for the full list of who won what.

The night’s biggest winners were country pop act Lady Antebellum. The Nashville band took home five awards, including honours for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Jay-Z won three awards, while Eminem, The Black Keys, John Legend and Lady Gaga all won two each.

Arcade Fire, who were nominated for three awards, picked up the gong for Album Of The Year for ‘The Suburbs’ at the Los Angeles Staples Center ceremony.

La Roux were also winners, taking home the award for Best Electronic Dance Album for their self-titled debut, while Muse won Best Rock Album for ‘The Resistance’.

The event also saw performances from Florence And The Machine, Eminem and Dr Dre and Muse. Mumford & Sons collaborated with Bob Dylan, performing the singer’s 1965 single ‘Maggie’s Farm’. Lady Gaga performed new single ‘Born This Way’.

See Grammy.com for more information.

The full list of winners from the Grammy Awards this year is:

Album of the Year: Arcade Fire – ‘The Suburbs’

Record of the Year: Lady Antebellum – ‘Need You Now’

Song of the Year: Lady Antebellum – ‘Need You Now’

New Artist: Esperanza Spalding

Rock Song: Neil Young – ‘Angry World’

Rock Album: Muse – ‘The Resistance’

Rock Performance: The Black Keys – ‘Tighten Up’

Solo Rock Vocal Performance: Paul McCartney – ‘Helter Skelter’

Hard Rock Performance: Them Crooked Vultures – ‘New Fang’

Metal Performance: Iron Maiden – ‘El Dorado’

Female Pop Vocal Performance: Lady Gaga – ‘Bad Romance’

Male Pop Vocal Performance: Bruno Mars – ‘Just The Way You Are’

Pop Vocal Album: Lady Gaga – ‘The Fame Monster’

Alternative Album: The Black Keys – ‘Brothers’

Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Michael Buble – ‘Crazy Love’

R&B Album: John Legend & The Roots – ‘Wake Up!’

Contemporary R&B Album: Usher ‘Raymond V Raymond’

R&B Song: John Legend & The Roots – ‘Shine’

R&B Performance: Sade – ‘Soldier Of Love’

Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: John Legend & The Root – ‘Hang On In There’

Urban/Alternative Performance: Cee Lo Green – ‘Forget You’

Rap Album: Eminem – ‘Recovery’

Rap Solo Performance: Eminem – ‘Not Afraid’

Rap Performance By A Duo or Group: Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz – ‘On To The Next One’

Rap Song: Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – ‘Empire State of Mind’

Rap/Sung Collaboration: Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – ‘Empire State Of Mind’

Dance Recording: Rihanna – ‘Only Girl (In The World)’

Electronic Dance Album: La Roux – ‘La Roux’

Musical Show Album: Green Day – ‘American Idiot’

Country Album: Lady Antebellum – ‘Need You Now’

Country Performance by a Duo or Group: Lady Antebellum – ‘Need You Now’

Country Song: Lady Antebellum – ‘Need You Now’

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Bono criticised over support of ‘shoot the boer’ song

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Bono criticised over support of ‘shoot the boer’ song
U2's Bono has been criticised for appearing to support a song which includes the lyrics "shoot the boer" on the band's tour of South Africa. The word boer means farmer in Dutch and Afrikaan. In an interview with South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper Bono compared the song to the rebel songs he woul...

U2‘s Bono has been criticised for appearing to support a song which includes the lyrics “shoot the boer” on the band’s tour of South Africa.

The word boer means farmer in Dutch and Afrikaan. In an interview with South Africa’s Sunday Times newspaper Bono compared the song to the rebel songs he would sing while growing up in Ireland.

“I was a kid and I’d sing songs I remember my uncles singing rebel songs about the early days of the Irish Republican Army,” he said, before singing an example. “We sang this and it’s fair to say it’s folk music.”

He added that the song should not be taken out of context. “Would you want to sing that in a certain community?” he said. “It’s pretty dumb. It’s about where and when you sing those songs.”

The singer’s comments sparked debate on South African radio and the internet, with some citing the song as derogatory, reports BBC News.

Julius Malema, the controversial leader of the African National Congress‘s youth league, was taken to court by lobby group Afriforum after he sang the song in public.

U2 took to the stage at Johannesburg‘s FNB Stadium as planned last night (February 13), playing to the largest crowd ever for a sporting or entertainment event in South Africa.

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Danger Mouse and Jack White collaboration out in May

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Danger Mouse and Jack White collaboration out in May
'Rome', the collaborative album from Danger Mouse and Italian composer Daniele Luppi, will be released on May 16. The album features artists including Norah Jones and Jack White on vocals. It was [url=http://www.nme.com/news/danger-mouse/54043]recorded during sporadic sessions over the past five y...

‘Rome’, the collaborative album from Danger Mouse and Italian composer Daniele Luppi, will be released on May 16.

The album features artists including Norah Jones and Jack White on vocals.

It was [url=http://www.nme.com/news/danger-mouse/54043]recorded during sporadic sessions over the past five years[/url] and is inspired by the film soundtrack work of Ennio Morricone. It was recorded at Rome‘s Forum Studios, a facility Morricone helped found, and featured contributions from musicians that worked with Morricone himself.

White and Jones sing on three tracks each. The former sings on ‘The Rose With The Broken Neck’, ‘Two Against One’ and ‘The World’, while Jones sings on ‘Season’s Trees’, ‘Black’ and ‘Problem Queen’.

Listen to a sample of the album at Soundcloud.com. See Romealbum.com for more information.

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