It has been four years since Thom Yorke and Radiohead last blessed the world with their oh-so beautifully strange musical compositions. They have continued along the path they blazed with “In Rainbows” and released this newest album, “The King of Limbs” themselves, in various stages.

First came a digital release, then the standard release and in April there will come the “newspaper” edition (basically a special edition).

So the distribution process is quite complicated, but when it comes to Radiohead, that could be expected. Although “The King of Limbs” is their shortest album so far (only 37.5 minutes), it is as delightfully nuanced as their music has ever been.

Yorke’s vocals are ethereal, almost as though it were another instrument floating in and out of focus for much of the album. The musicianship is superb, with instruments not merely complementing each other, but intertwining and playing off of each other for an intensely heavy effect.

These two components, at first glance, seem as though they would clash awfully, but the album is so supremely balanced that the end result is glorious. It is proof that alternative music is not dead, but merely sleeping.

Fans that are only familiar with tracks like “Creep” and “Karma Police” will not find much in “The King of Limbs” to enjoy.

There are no definitive singles, and although each track is distinct in its own way, they are assembled to flow with one another and form a perfect whole.

In a musical era obsessed with videos, singles and chart-toppers, which chooses auto-tune and drum machines as its most often used tools, it is almost rapturous to experience such an album.

“The King of Limbs” is a complete rejection of the music world’s commercialism, from its distribution to its crafters to its message.

Its complexities are not attempts to be “deep” for the sake of being “deep,” but attempts at musical progression.

Yorke’s vocals are proving what Bob Dylan’s and Tom Waits’ have previously, that a voice does not have to be pretty in order to be beautiful. The instrumentals show us all that music does not have to be aggressive in order to have impact, nor does it need to be overly simple to be profound.

What Radiohead has been doing for music for almost two decades is important.

They have been setting new precedents and blazing new paths. They are not before their time, simply because they are on the razor’s edge of where our time should be. “The King of Limbs” is a prime example of that philosophy.

There is just enough of the familiar present to keep your brain intact while it exposes you to the outer limits of possibility.

Everyone should listen to this album and should give it an honest chance. This is an album, not merely a collection of tracks and it deserves to be listened to that way.

Adam Mohebbi can be reached at 581-7944 or

[email protected].