Radiohead have released a new single.
Let it sink in.
RADIOHEAD HAVE FINALLY RELEASED A NEW SINGLE.
It’s called Burn The Witch, words we were first privy to last week when the band sent out fliers bearing the words in bold capital letters.
The track opens with the chirping bird they teased earlier today. The stop motion video depicts a quaint village with a sinister twist; as you may have also guessed, characters paint red crosses on the doors of supposed witches, and proceed to try to burn them. The second video that Radiohead posted on their social media accounts earlier today appears later in the song.
The lyrics narrate the story you see in the video, remarkably un-cryptic considering what we usually hear from Thom Yorke. The track itself stunning and complex, everything you want from a new Radiohead track. Chirpy yet ominous, it is melodically engulfing, with a full range of strings that grow wilder and more frantic as the track progresses, a deep, driving bass, and of course, Thom Yorke’s immediately recognisable vocals, both enchanting and eerie at the same time.
Radiohead also populated the profile and cover picture of their Facebook page, with images that may well be the cover art or related artwork for their new album, which is still unnamed:
Image: Radiohead/Facebook
The single comes after Radiohead deleted themselves entirely off the internet this week, only to then post the two short videos which formed scenes from Burn The Witch.
This is the band’s first proper single since 2011. On Christmas last year, however, they released Spectre, which had originally been written as the potential theme song for the James Bond film of the same name.
This is a really really exciting look at what’s to come for their new album, which is hopefully around the corner. This will be their ninth studio album, their last being The King Of Limbs in 2011. I imagine more details will be emerging in the coming weeks, if not days.
Image: Radiohead/Youtube