Tracks:
1. Burn the Witch: 9/10 after the disappointing King of Limbs, this is an awesome comeback single. With a killer instrumental, a goosebump-raising chorus and possibly my favorite music video of all time, this reminds us just how good this band really is.
2. Daydreaming: 9/10 a powerful, melancholy and captivating song that packs a serious wallop with little more than a gentle piano instrumental and Thom Yorke's haunting vocal performance.
3. Decks Dark: 8/10 it certainly isn't cheerful, but it's a seriously affecting track that is subtle in the best way possible.
4. Desert Island Disk: 6/10 pretty tedious and lyrically the most pretentious yet. Then again, it's hardly bad; more highly underwhelming compared to the rest of the album.
5. Ful Stop: 8/10 simultaneously hugely intense and understated, this goes on a bit but it really is a banger.
6. Glass Eyes: 9/10 a quiet, short but beautiful song that should not be forgotten among the album's bigger songs.
7. Idenkit: 9/10 this is an album highlight for sure, with some great lyrics and the same quietly powerful music that flows through the album. The "Broken hearts, make it rain" section is brilliant.
8. The Numbers: 7/10 it's cool to see Thom Yorke writing an environmental song as it's an important topic for him. This is a nice song to listen to with some good moments, but it goes the motions somewhat.
9. Present Tense: 9/10 this borrows intelligently from Brazilian Samba music and is a hugely enjoyable track, as well as the only one which sounds even remotely upbeat.
10. Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief: 8/10 this is derivative of the rest of the album, so it's basically a summarizing of everything that's made this album awesome.
11. True Love Waits: 9/10 Radiohead's devastating live track finally gets a studio version. You'll want the tissues for this one.
Best song: Daydreaming
Worst song: Desert Island Disk
Summary: Definitely one of 2016's best albums. It gets better with every listen. Although it's a very quiet and understated album, there is so much meaning, and depth, and emotion running through every note and every lyric. It's as depressing as ever, but in an intelligent way. This album is a masterpiece of understatement and atmosphere, and it repeatedly packs a devastating wallop even when it's Radiohead's quietest album to date. This is definite proof that Radiohead have still got it and this is also a great album to send you to sleep; not because it's in any way boring, but because it's a very peaceful record, yet one which will also really make you contemplate life in a deep and meaningful way.
In terms of how these sounded live, obviously I wasn't in the audience so my opinion isn't entirely reliable but they mostly sounded pretty good. Burn the Witch was the one which worked the best since it's the loudest, although it sounds different from the studio version. Idenkit and Ful Stop also worked very well, although the other songs, since they are quieter, didn't necessarily blow the roof off. I have no memory at all of Desert Island Disk being played even though it apparently was, showing how forgettable that song is. Although it's my favorite on the album, Daydreaming, being just a piano and a vocalist, didn't work so well for me but probably did in the audience. Oddly, True Love Waits didn't appear despite being a live track for many years. Glass Eyes, Present Tense and Tinker... were also absent.
Final rating: 9/10
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