Radiohead: Album Update and 5 Underrated Songs You Need to Hear Right Now

Radiohead: Album Update and 5 Underrated Songs You Need to Hear Right Now

Anyone with a remote interest in music news has undoubtedly heard a handful of rumors over the past two years of Radiohead recording a new album. While it had finally been confirmed for an album release to take place at some point in 2015, news on the album had been mostly limited to scattered pieces of quotes, rumors, and interviews. Recently, guitarist Johnny Greenwood has spoken out on whether the next release will reflect the sounds of jumpy minimalist electro-album, King of Limbs, or return the band to their roots of experimental alt-rock. 

“We've certainly changed our method again. We're kind of limiting ourselves; working in limits. So we'll see what happens. It's like we're trying to use very old and very new technology together to see what happens."

Greenwood’s recent work outside of Radiohead includes contributing to the soundtrack for the film Inherent Vice and recording an album in India with Israeli composer Shy Ben Tzur.

For those who are only familiar with Radiohead’s singles "Creep," "Karma Police," or "Paranoid Android," here are five fantastically underrated songs that will get you looking forward to their upcoming album if nothing else does. Even if you are a long-time fan, these five tracks are worth revisiting. 

1. The Pablo Honey-era b-side 'Yes I Am' is a bitter, dejected indie-rock jam that characterizes the band’s early sound. The lyrics tell the tale of a friend’s betrayal that leads to indecision, frustration, and ultimately firm resolution.

2. “What if the breaks just give in?” questions Thom Yorke on this Bends b-side, ‘Killer Cars.’ The song explores Thom’s wariness of driving and the need to tell others how you really feel about them, because accidents will happen, and any goodbye could be their last.

3. The Amnesiac track ‘Dollars and Cents’ illuminates the lost feeling many of us may have in society as we embark on our day to day journeys in a world so consumed by business and media. 

4. The Pink Floyd-esque track ‘Sail to the Moon’ from Hail to the Thief is perhaps one of the most beautiful songs the band has written. Lush piano work, spiraling guitars, and mystical images of moonbeams and shooting stars make this a highlight of the band’s post-90s catalogue.

5. The closing track on King of Limbs is a gorgeous and surreal soundscape that brings the album to a satisfying close. “It’s like I’ve fallen out of a long and vivid dream,” sings Yorke, and the listener almost can’t help but feel the same.