8 / 10

As easy as it is to love and admire Radiohead, it’s very difficult to envy them.

For more than a decade, the Oxford-based art-rock band has made a career of exceeding expectations, both commercially and artistically. There isn’t a name in all of popular music today that invokes as much reverence and respect.

For their seventh album, “In Rainbows,” Radiohead makes a statement through marketing. Instead of announcing a release date months in advance and waiting for the album to leak on the Internet, the band leaked it themselves and asked its listeners to pay whatever they felt like paying.

But does the music live up to the hype?

“In Rainbows” is indeed worth it. For much of this decade, Radiohead has embraced computerized music, adding electronic textures and beats to their own work.

“In Rainbows” is surprising because of how understated it is. Instead of a hook-filled sprawl like “Hail to the Thief,” Radiohead gives us a comparatively stripped-down and organic-sounding album.

Among the surprises is the notion that Thom Yorke fancies himself a bit of an R&B singer. Obviously, he hasn’t turned into R. Kelly, but his performance on “Nude,” along with Colin Greenwood’s jumping bass line, emphasize a soulful rhythmic groove that hasn’t been explored by the band until now.

“15 Step” kicks the album off in a similar way, juxtaposing a jittery 5-4 beat with Yorke’s croon and soft guitar line. Later in the record, “Reckoner” showcases the falsetto range of Yorke’s effervescent voice, which amazingly has not weakened with age.

Throughout all of “In Rainbows,” the band’s arrangements show a tasteful sense of restraint and poise.

Drummer Phil Selway doesn’t get enough credit for keeping the band together during live shows, recreating the complex beats live. That might change with “In Rainbows,” as his percussion fits each song without drawing attention.

In fact, most of the arrangement and instrument playing on the album can be described in that way. From the subtle strings and guitars of “House of Cards,” the mantra-like piano line from “Videotape” and the finger-picked acoustic guitar on “Faust ARP.”

There is of course one exception to this rule, a song called “Bodysnatchers.” With its heavy guitars, Rolling Stones-esque beat, and Yorke’s banshee wail, the song feels looser than anything the band has produced in this decade.

The problem that comes with reviewing Radiohead is the inevitable comparisons to their back catalog. Fans constantly argue whether “The Bends,” “OK Computer,” or “Kid A,” defines the group’s crowning achievement.

“In Rainbows” is a different beast all together. Like their 2001 album “Amnesiac,” it doesn’t try to sound monolithic or epic.

Anyone who says they were “wowed” by this album would probably be wowed by anything Radiohead does. It’s worth pointing out that this is not “OK Computer 2” or the return to “The Bends” style bombast.

“In Rainbows” scales Radiohead back, giving them a more human sound.

Their body of work shifts styles and sensibilities from album to album, but each piece always sounds remarkably like Radiohead. “In Rainbows” may not “wow” audiences, but it will fascinate and intrigue fans.