it's good that thom has realized that he does require jonny to make a good record. but, this is egos clashing - it's not collaborative. thom is really doing everything he possibly can to drown out the strings. an epic mix manages to save a catastrophe. although, i'm sure there's more than one patch on that processor? we've heard quite a lot of that one.
this isn't going to turn out well if the process is that thom shows up after jonny's done all the work, like it's just another side project, and howls out some half formed nonsense. he couldn't even be bothered to write a second verse. a band is supposed to be a collaborative affair. i don't know how a band can go more than a decade without remembering that.
i'm not disappointed, i'm just jaded; cynical, even. i've been soooo over this band since 2003. really.
but, there's a bit of a tease here: this is actually new material, not just the same recycled sound they've been stripping down forever, to the point of parody. but, if he wants to go down this orchestral path, i wish he'd be a little more aspirational. i mean, it's not like it's avant garde - listen to eleanor rigby. or how to disappear completely and never be found. this just seems pedestrian, in comparison.
but, if moaning about radiohead were an olympic sport, i'd be competitive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI2oS2hoL0k