All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

The Guardian

The most heartening thing about In Rainbows, besides the fact that it may represent the strongest collection of songs Radiohead have assembled for a decade, is that it ventures into new emotional territories.

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100

Entertainment Weekly

Rainbows may be the gentlest, prettiest Radiohead set yet.

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100

NOW Magazine

It's true that we've come to expect a certain level of genius from this band, but when they actually exceed expectations, as they do here, it's a clear sign that Radiohead will continue to reinvent themselves and drop more jaws along the way.

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100

Q Magazine

Once again, Radiohead have proven themselves priceless. [Dec 2007, p.107]

Pitchfork

The brilliant In Rainbows represents no such thing [downshift]. Nonetheless, it's a very different kind of Radiohead record. Liberated from their self-imposed pressure to innovate, they sound--for the first time in ages--user-friendly.

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Lost At Sea

Excluding the established Radiohead franchise from consideration of In Rainbows, it is still one of the most compelling recent releases, and should be considered for 2007's Album of the Year in any context.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Elsewhere, it's business as usual--mostly amazing business, to be sure, but never entirely unexpected.

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Stylus Magazine

In Rainbows, then, is Radiohead as straight and lean as they’ve ever sounded.

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All Music Guide

In Rainbows will hopefully be remembered as Radiohead's most stimulating synthesis of accessible songs and abstract sounds, rather than their first pick-your-price download.

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Under The Radar

Maybe In Rainbows is their life--settling into things, creating permanence. If so, we may grow to miss the anger and the striving and the discovery that comes as a result. But for now, we can enjoy the beauty of Radiohead understanding their identity and the craftsmanship that lies in comfort.

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PopMatters

The album proves itself to be what we all thought Radiohead couldn’t make again: a masterpiece.

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Los Angeles Times

The first time I listened to Radiohead's In Rainbows, I loved it, no holds barred.

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musicOMH.com

By turns danceable, blissed out romantic, familiar and new, it's technologically and musically fascinating. Its juxtaposition of orga and mecha is one of its many well executed contradictions. Packed but sparse, thrilling, complex, innovative, simple. Without even a dud bar never mind a filler track, In Rainbows is more than any fan could hope for.

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No Ripcord

It’s as brazen, bold and brilliant as anything it’s done thus far. It is, as Thom Yorke claimed, very minimal. Yet, the album never sounds half-finished, but instead focused and refined. It’s as vital as anything the band has done.

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Delusions of Adequacy

This album is more a statement of where they're going. It feels big, open, and alone, like you are listening in on something you shouldn't hear.

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Rolling Stone

All of it rocks; none of it sounds like any other band on earth; it delivers an emotional punch that proves all other rock stars owe us an apology.

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BBC collective

In Rainbows really does present Radiohead at their most full-blooded and confident.

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New Musical Express

Sonically, it was staggering.

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Hot Press

First impressions are pretty damn good. It’s dreamy, eerie, epic, soaring, soothing, very occasionally manic... and more.

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Prefix Magazine

This is a grownup album, made for grownups.

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cokemachineglow

Radiohead sound as ephemeral and variegated as ever, flowering and streaming and as big as the light our eyes can catch.

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Blender

In Rainbows is far more pensive and reflective than its predecessor.

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Spin

The album succeeds because all that cold, clinical lab work hasn't eliminated the warmth from their music. [Dec 2007, p.111]

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Mojo

Both artistically and in terms of a new business model, In Rainbows is a necesary masterstroke. [Dec 2007, p.96]

Paste Magazine

Not only is this Radiohead’s most straightforward, organic-sounding album since The Bends, it finds the band shedding the bulk of its trademark anxiety while remaining indomitably themselves.

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Uncut

Radiohead have made their most well-behaved, classically structured album since "OK Computer."

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Under The Radar

In Rainbows, its first new album in four years, is a gorgeous, if understated return to form.

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Billboard

Overall, the material feels more human, more honest, more assured.

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Dot Music

Happily, In Rainbows is pretty, pretty good.

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Sputnikmusic

The music within the album has many sides to it, and the execution gives each aspect enough emphasis to add to the sound without creating clutter or over saturation.

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Sputnikmusic

'Videotape' closes off the album peacefully, like a peck kiss goodbye, and it fittingly finishes the sparse emptiness of the record. However, the entire album lacks a climax.

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Hartford Courant

In Rainbows, the band's seventh studio album and first since 2003's "Hail to the Thief," is dense and thorny, complex and beautiful.

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Boston Globe

In Rainbows is a wonderful, absorbing album.

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Tiny Mix Tapes

Amazingly, it lacks any pretense: their aesthetic is organic and fluid, indicating a band that responds honestly and artistically to circumstance, rather than one that imposes a rigid, stagnant aesthetic for more idealistic purposes.

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The New York Times

Rhythmic layers crackle and coil, percussion spatters prettiness, and noise sometimes looms from murky corners....Radiohead has also reclaimed its tunefulness. Its new songs take care to string long-lined melodies across the rigorous counterpoint.

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Trouser Press

In Rainbows is a richly textured and resonant record. In a career marked by dramatic reinvention, Radiohead’s latest phase — growing old gracefully--is going quite well.

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Austin Chronicle

'Bodysnatchers' exhibits the electioneering energy of The Bends with a monstrous riff that explodes into a spiral galaxy of guitar, but the remainder of the album flows like an extended Soma holiday.

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Slant Magazine

In Rainbows with the all-too-familiar stiff, programmed beats and strategically placed effects of '15 Steps,' but soon more organic elements (spare bass and leftfield guitar--literally, coming out of the left speaker) take center stage, rendering it one of the band's best hybrids in years.

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Almost Cool

It's certainly pretty, and definitely has its moments, but it simply lacks the vitality of past work.

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cokemachineglow

It feels like vital parts are gone, missed somewhere in Radiohead’s search through their own oeuvre for something more and more facilely universal, something that draws lines within lines of song types and not the larger methodology, something that can be "important" without being challenging.

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The Wire

There is still a sense here of a group magisterially marking time, shying away this time round from any grand, rhetorical, countercultural purpose. [Dec 2007, p.63]

Dusted Magazine

I can sense that there's something pretty great going on and even briefly catch glimpses of it. But as an experience, it's a little bit maddening, and eventually I'll want to throw away the glasses and pick up a book.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.1 (out of 10) based on 1119 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

[Anonymous] gave it a7:
I want to love this, but i feel there is something lacking. their greatest albums are ones to explore, but i feel this is too straight-forward for that. nothing that grows with repeated listens. nothing that really grabs you in. which isn't bad, but that's just so much of what has drawn me to them in the past. there's nothing here to really cling to. most songs here have their moments, but this album just isn't very compelling, coming from a band who have consistently made incredibly compelling music. that said, most of these songs are phenomenal live. my favorite is actually the omitted Go Slowly, available on the so-called "disc 2". still several good songs, kicking it to a 7 for me, the highest i can give it. the orchestration gets old, and doesn't really improve on its sounds. indeed a blatant reminder of the existence of coldplay and how and why they consider RH to be such an influence. in rainbows has the parts of a great radiohead album, but little holding it together. and though it tries not to be, the album is rather anticlimactic for radiohead. even alternate sequencing and the inclusion of "disc 2" tracks could have beefed it up some. all in all the songs alone hold up, just not in an album format. petty complaints for the mp3 age. and let's face it, these songs are still better than so much of what else is out there.

Andrew E gave it a10:
The most quintessential Radiohead release. Their power of melody, rhythm and emotion honed into 40 minutes of pure bliss. Easily the album of the decade, and I suspect the test of time will see this piece become only further revered. I challenge anyone to listen to this album in full 5 times and not be hooked.

Troy S gave it an8:
A decent outing, although lacking the innovation and creativity of "OK Computer" or "Kid A." Definitely more focused and refined than "Hail to the Thief." "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" is one of their best songs ever.

hugo m gave it a10:
Really, I actually think who voted less than 9 or 8 for this album did not understand it. . .that's the only reasonable explanation . . a piece of art of the best band!

DexStud gave it a10:
In Rainbows is far from being Radiohead's greatest album. And it lacks the creativity and shear quality of Ok Computer. But standing on its own, In Rainbows is still one of the greatest albums ever! Each track is flawlessly polished and produced. And Thom Yorke's falsetto is mesmerizing!

Dave C gave it a5:
Very MOR by Radiohead standards. Even compared to their earlier more conventional albums such as the Bends, In Rainbows sounds watered down. Does the album have highlights? Well, "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" is pretty fun, but I don't have much to say about the rest. Radiohead rarely seem to go anywhere they haven't been before and if I were being honest, they would be considered subpar as Bends-era b-sides. My least favourite Radiohead album.

Joe gave it a1:
I am a big Radiohead fan, but this album, it's just boring. I find it hard to get through only a few tracks. I hope they turn it around with their next album.

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