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44. A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead (2016)

Alternative

Radiohead, already concretely established within the “Greatest of their Generation” conversation, pulled no punches on their ninth album, 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool. The album finds the British icons flexing their musical machismo, proving over and over that less is more through an immaculately orchestrated series of minimal, yet powerful tracks that come across as fresh and novel while remaining quintessentially Radiohead. 

There’s a half-dreamy quality to the album, as if it’s a soundtrack to the shadowy space between sleeping and wakefulness. Jonny Greenwood brings some of his cinematic experience to the album, weaving together sparse, ethereal piano movements with orchestral arrangements provided by the London Contemporary Orchestra. “This is a low-flying panic attack” Thom Yorke sings on opening track “Burn the Witch”, a hint at the ominousness lurking beneath every track as if they were recorded atop a house of cards. The band’s trademark melancholy flavors Yorke’s rainy day ruminations which are delivered delicately and with pin-point precision. A Moon Shaped Pool takes away nothing from Radiohead’s monumental legacy and establishes itself as yet another worthy chapter in their storied career.

*image; cover art for the album A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead