Radiohead in technicolor

Since the media wasn't able to opine on the band's latest before the general public, I really had no idea what I was in for.

Now, full disclosure, I'm a longtime fan of the band. Generally, I don't think Thom Yorke and Company can do much wrong. And even when I didn't quite get their whole otherworldy "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" phase, I still loved them.

I just got used to it. Just like at the pool when the water is too cold at first. I stayed in until I warmed up to it.

It didn't take me long to dive into "In Rainbows."

The stomping rhythm of the opening song, "15 Step," caught me off guard. It sounds like the band was out recording while doing double dutch or something --- the beat combined with a mellow guitar rift makes a completly unique and, dare I say catchy sound.

It was interesting and new. Exactly what you'd expect from a band that has no problem making itself over and creating its own conventions.

"In Rainbows" is a satisfying combination of the variety of sounds the band has explored over the years. Songs like "Nude" and "All I Need" will appeal to fans whose first love was "The Bends," but both still contain the eerie synth sounds that took "Kid A" to another stratosphere.

The grainy guitar of "Bodysnatchers" is reminiscent of "OK Computer," but again the moans of more recent albums are ever present.

I think my favorite song is the closing, "Videotape." Mostly because I always enjoy when Yorke pairs his falsetto over stark piano ala "Pyramid Song."