![]() ![]() ![]() Similarly, as “Waving a White Flag” grapples with lyrics like “couldn’t get a breath in” and “there has to be a way out,” a fuzzy synth does the heavy lifting with hopeful, comfortably numb chord changes. “Free in the Knowledge,” the album’s most straightforward tune, juxtaposes verses about feeling “free in the knowledge that one day this will end” over David Gilmour–like acoustic strumming with a hopeful bridge section with shimmering strings over which Yorke sings, “I talked to the face in the mirror … I said it’s time that you deliver, we see through you.” It’s beautiful, affecting, and direct. Mostly, the album reflects Yorke’s lockdown anxieties with clever musical backdrops that never obscure the songs. The trio also recruited longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich for the LP, which benefits from smart string and brass and woodwind arrangements. In addition to obvious shades of Radiohead, the album balances soundtrack composer Greenwood’s interests in contemporary classical music with Philip Glass–like minimalist piano motifs, as well as hints of complex King Crimson guitar lines, jazzy brass arrangements similar to David Bowie’s Blackstar, and motorik Krautrock rhythms rendered sideways by the Smile’s drummer, Tom Skinner, who plays regularly with the jazz group Sons of Kemet. Although the duo hasn’t gone back to writing chorus-forward singles like “Creep” or “High and Dry” or attempted TikTok bids, the songs here feel more concrete than they have on recent Radioheadbangers like A Moon Shaped Pool or The King of Limbs.
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