A Moon Shaped Pool, Radiohead’s New Album is Everything You Expected

Radiohead digitally released their ninth studio album, A Moon Shaped Pool, on 8 May, 2016. The CD and LP editions will be available on 17 June 2016, but if you’re in desperate need of a quick fix, here’s the first track off the album, Burn the Witch.

The claymation video is disarmingly child-like, provoking nostalgia, and the warm fuzzies that accompany the old Rudolph and Frosty claymation Christmas films. But there is no Drummer Boy here. This is Thom Yorke at his Yorke-iest. With bated breath, we watch on as a town of bared-teeth smiling puritans prepare to, well, burn the witch. The twist at the end is done without a beat drop, making the climax all the more horrifying to watch.

And then there’s the fact that this is Radiohead. The tune itself is all reverberating vocals and driving percussion and some gorgeous, high-tension strings, thoughtfully layered so that you don’t realize your blood is pumping until it’s too late. And the lyrics. Well.

Stay in the shadows
Cheer at the gallows
This is a round-up.

Burn the witch
We know where you live.

Go ahead, Thom Yorke. Tell us about ourselves. Like you usually do. And it seems that most of the internet agrees. With over 10 million views on Youtube since it was uploaded on 3 May 2016, Radiohead is giving us more than nostalgia with the new album. They’re upping the ante. Again.

What did you think of the new track? Comment below and let us know!