by Dan Gayle
Staff Writer

With all of the noise concerning the manner in which Radiohead’s new album “In Rainbows” has been released, it’s easy to forget that there’s a new Radiohead album to listen to, and boy am I excited.

I downloaded “In Rainbows” yesterday, and according to iTunes, I’ve listened to it at least five times through. (In answer to the other question, I paid £5, whatever that works out to be in American dollars.)

So I’m going to come right out and say it: this is Radiohead’s best album since 1997’s “OK Computer.” It’s been 10 years and three albums since that classic came out, and it’s almost possible that the wait was worth it.

So far, it’s an album that is definitely getting better with each successive listen. They’re finally starting to play the music that we as Radiohead fans have wanted them to play for a long time.

“In Rainbows” is clearly a combination of their Grammy-winning “OK Computer” and the best parts of their last album, “Hail to the Thief.” Toss in a little bit of the sonic experimentation of “Kid A”, and you might be able to grasp the concept.

To the great relief of many of their fans, Radiohead have scaled back the digital blips and bleeps of their recent albums in favor of a more guitar and piano-oriented production, not to mention the emphasis on Thom Yorke’s haunting vocalisms that have no peer in the music world.

The best song is a slow number called “Nude.” To highlight the similarities between “In Rainbows” and “OK Computer,” it should be noted that this song was originally written during that era and has been kicking around in live versions for quite a while.

The other songs’ alternate between high energy rockers such as “Bodysnatchers” and “15 Step” to the more pensive and delicate songs like “All I Need” and “Videotape.” There’s not a stinker in the whole bunch, a phrase that perhaps could not be applied to “Hail to the Thief,” “Amnesiac,” “Kid A,” or “GASP! the Bends.”

Overall, “In Rainbows” is the most consistently good album that Radiohead has put out in a long, long time and is worth whatever you decide to pay for it.