Radiohead has a history of creating album-titled companies to help facilitate the release of their material, and had many fans speculating that the record would be named Dawn Chorus when it registered a company called Dawn Chorus LLP earlier this year. With the formation of the new company, it appears the name of the album may have been refined to a more specific spelling by the band as it readies for release.
Regardless of what the album ends up being called, the band will tour packed houses around the world this year in support of it. The recently-announced string of live shows — rare for the band, who typically only announcer shows following an official album release — sold out worldwide in minutes.
Recently, collaborator Stanley Donwood called the band’s new album, “A work of art,” but said that it was not quite finished. The new material will be the first to hit public ears since Radiohead released The King of Limbs in 2011.
Despite the relatively short window between now and the band’s planned live shows, fans shouldn’t expect to have a delayed-release Kanye West situation on their hands; The British rock group have been recording since last year and, according to interviews with guitarist Jonny Greenwood, made significant progress by the end of 2015.
Notoriously meticulous in their musical vision, Radiohead often record extensive amounts of material for each song to later be whittled down. It’s possible they’re spending the final months before the album’s release polishing up recorded material for public ears, rather than adding new songs to include on the album.
Fans should expect the new record to hit store shelves and the Internet by early summer, just in time for Radiohead’s scheduled live shows to begin. Formal announcement of the album’s title and tracks should occur in relatively short order, unless the band plans to “surprise” release it.
