The Edge’s Top Albums of 2011: #2

Radiohead — The King of Limbs

Released 18th February 2011, Ticker Tape

Number 2 on The Edge‘s Top Albums of 2011 list is the eighth studio album by English alternative rock band Radiohead, The King of Limbs. Released in February, the album peaked at number 7 on the UK Albums Chart.

Statistics:

Included in the top-ten lists of 31% of contributors
Of those, 63% ranked the album in their top three
Ranked the album of the year by three contributors

Review by Joe Moor, writer (ranked the album #1):

Every great band needs their controversial album, and Radiohead’s streak of universally acclaimed releases could only last so long. Criticisms of The King of Limbs have focused on its length (37 minutes), its focus on rhythm over melody, and the lack of anything even remotely resembling a rock song. But as usual the Oxford boys are ahead of the curve, keeping affairs short and punchy as well as exchanging the paranoia and gloom with which they’ve become pigeon-holed for nature-inspired sounds. While the first half deals in challenging yet oddly accessible experiments in electronica and dubstep, they follow with a quadruple of some of the greatest and warmest tunes they’ve ever done. It’s 2011 – length is overrated.

Review by Joe Hawkes, Editor (ranked the album #1):

Radiohead drip-fed their audience this year with two EPs and a haul of remixes released after The King of Limbs, but the studio album remains their crowning achievement. The intertwining electronics and orchestration of ‘Bloom’ and compelling alien rhythms of ‘Morning Mr. Magpie’ and ‘Little By Little’ counterbalance the heart-rending ‘Codex’ and ‘Give Up the Ghost’ to create a poised and complete record. Some of the lyrics are more personal than the band’s earlier output, but The King of Limbs remains, for the most part, a rather enigmatic album, and the record I’ve listened to most in 2011 by a long stretch.

Other accolades: