You’ve heard all the rumors. Radiohead, a British rock group, recently released their seventh full length album on the Internet… for free. Now I know what you’re thinking, “Where can I, a law abiding college student, obtain a free copy of this trendy new intangible record?” My answer is “Sssssssssssshhhh, if you’re very quiet you can hear it seeping under your roommate’s door, knock before you enter because he’s probably doing his best Thom Yorke impression over the subtle finger plucking melody of ‘Weird Fishes/Arpeggi’ with his hand over his heart. He’s been at it all night and to catch him in the act would be more embarrassing than to catch him masturbating.”

When recommending a band to a friend it can be difficult to find a good place to start. It’s a question of accessibility and finding the album that best represents the band’s other works. This question does not apply to Radiohead. There are no training wheels for this band; you’re a big boy now… here’s Kid A. In Rainbows is a challenging record, the melodies meander, the vocals float nearly hookless over conventional instrumentation, and the lyrics are heartfelt and sincere. Rainbows is the return of a full band that is putting away its hyper-literacy and irony for modest organic sounds and human sentiments. Mortality (“Videotape”) paranoia (“Nude”) and love (“All I Need”) are the core themes of every Radiohead record. What makes In Rainbows different, is the fact that Thom Yorke no longer uses aliens, android children, or desperate dying rabbits as filters for his experiences. In Rainbows is not only a great Radiohead record, it’s also a testament of a twenty-year-old band growing up in the liner notes.