Skip to main content

Is Radiohead putting the finishing touches on their latest album?

Radiohead appears to be closing in on the mix for their ninth studio album. While an official announcement has not been made, Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich tweeted out a photo yesterday depicting guitarist Jonny Greenwood in the studio at the helm of the soundboard. The picture follows recent news that the band had “done a couple of months of recording” for the yet-to-be-titled album this past fall, according to The Sunday Guardian.

While the text may be confusing, it’s highly unlikely 65-year-old fashionista Anna Wintour is responsible for laying down the tracks Greenwood is dialing up. Rather, it’s a good bet Radiohead is closing in on their latest studio endeavor.

Recommended Videos

“We haven’t listened to anything back yet, so at the moment we’re all very happy,” Greenwood quipped about Radiohead’s latest project to the Sunday Guardian in February. “Now, I guess we’re going to go and listen to what we’ve done and see if we were right to be so happy. But we left it at a good place when we last stopped.” The band was reportedly slated to continue work on the album this spring following a break.

Greenwood also mentioned that the new album marks another change in Radiohead’s style. “It’s too involved [to explain how],” he told the Sunday Guardian. “We’re kind of limiting ourselves; working in limits. So we’ll see what happens. It’s like we’re trying to use very old and very new technology together to see what happens.” For those who’ve followed the band’s evolution from alt-rock, to a hybrid fusion of electronica, prog-rock, and all-out pop experimentation over the years, it’s an intriguing hint at what’s to come.

There isn’t a timeframe on the new project’s release. Drummer Philip Selway recently told UK music publication Drowned in Sound that “[he] wouldn’t want to start to predict that kind of thing.” And, considering the numerous projects that Radiohead members are involved in, we don’t expect that they’re in a rush. Lead singer Thom Yorke released a solo record last year, Selway put out a solo album this past October, and Greenwood composed the score for Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Inherent Vice.”

We’ll be watching for a new record though, especially considering the band’s recent experimentation in distribution: Both “King of Limbs” and “In Rainbows” (2007) were surprise, self-distributed releases, as well as critical and financial successes. And we’re sure that Radiohead has something interesting in mind for distribution of this upcoming album. Considering that Thom Yorke may have made as musch as $24 million from his 2014 solo release Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes through BitTorrent, maybe the band will use the service again?

In both sonic flavor and distribution method, the only thing predictable when it comes to a new Radiohead album is unpredictability.

Chris Leo Palermino
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Chris Leo Palermino is a music, tech, business, and culture journalist based between New York and Boston. He also contributes…
How to download music from SoundCloud on desktop and mobile
Soundcloud Interface on a Macbook.

If you're a die-hard music fan, you probably keep a curated library of playlists packed with your favorite artists and albums on Spotify, Apple Music, or whatever your favorite music streaming app is. But how do you discover the best indie artists today? Some music-streaming platforms are better than others at celebrating the ‘unsung gem’ acts, but one of the most reliable forums for new, off-the-grid tunes is SoundCloud.

Founded in 2007, SoundCloud has always prioritized music that’s a bit under the radar. With over 320 million tracks in its library, the platform will even let you download a majority of its songs and albums.

Read more
The best kids headphones of 2025: for fun, safety, and sound
Two kids using the Puro Sound PuroQuiet Plus to watch something on a tablet.

Kid-friendly consumer tech is all the rage these days, so it’s no surprise that there’s an entire market of headphones designed exclusively for young ones. But when we think “kid-friendly,” sometimes we imagine products that are built to be a bit more throwaway than their adult counterparts. That’s not the case with the products on our list of the best headphones for kids, though.

We want our child-tailored headphones to include parental-controlled volume limiters, to ensure our children aren’t harming their eardrums. Pretty much every entry on our list checks this vital box, but we also wanted to point you and yours toward products that offer exceptional noise-canceling, built-in mics for phone and video calls, and long-lasting batteries for schooldays or a long flight.

Read more
How to master your equalizer settings for the perfect sound
An equalizer from eqMac.

While most people will simply flip on the radio or load up Spotify to listen to music, audiophiles like to dig a bit deeper and customize their experience. This often comes in the form of adjustments to the equalizer, which offers the freedom to tweak every aspect of the sound booming out of headphones or speakers. Even some streaming services now have built-in EQs, giving you more ways than ever to play with your music and find something that best fits your ears.

Tinkering with the equalizer can be daunting to newcomers, as there are tons of cryptic settings you can manipulate. And if you mess with the wrong one, your sound quality might take a nasty hit. Thankfully, learning the basics isn't too difficult.

Read more