A Moon Shaped Pool
by Radiohead
  • Record Label: XL
  • Release Date: May 8, 2016
User Score
8.9

Universal acclaim- based on 1525 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,393 out of 1525
  2. Mixed: 41 out of 1525
  3. Negative: 91 out of 1525
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  1. aforeashore
    May 9, 2016
    10
    after years of waiting. Your review must be at least 150 characters long.Your review must be at least 150 characters long.Your review must be at least 150 characters long.Your review must be at least 150 characters long.Your review must be at least 150 characters long.Your review must be at least 150 characters long.Your review must be at least 150 characters long.
  2. claytongg
    May 9, 2016
    10
    Absolute masterpiece. From start to finish Radiohead deliver an absolutely splendid 11 track lineup featuring past and familiar sounds. Featuring tracks like "Identikit" and "True Love Waits" that have been in the making for years are an absolute joy for Radiohead fans to see on this album.
  3. CoreyGaze
    May 9, 2016
    10
    Incredible, haunting, devastating, sublime. Everything I hoped for and goes straight to my top 3 radiohead albums. As a songwriter I find this collection of songs both incredibly inspiring and also intimidating. Well done Radiohead, you have done it again.
  4. JPV328
    May 9, 2016
    10
    Radiohead have delivered the greatest album in the history of rock music. A Moon Shaped Pool is deeply satisfying and will shake you to the core. Gorgeous. Thank you, Radiohead.
  5. AlexWaterwalk
    May 9, 2016
    10
    Too soon to tell if it's their best. Yet, I already know that it was worth the wait.
    A Moon Shaped Pool is lightyears ahead of The King Of Limbs, and Radiohead find again there the level they had achieved at their peak (1997-2007).
    Burn The Witch, Daydreaming, Decks Dark and The Present Tense are the album's most beautiful song, while True Love Waits might simply become the band's    Too soon to tell if it's their best. Yet, I already know that it was worth the wait.
    A Moon Shaped Pool is lightyears ahead of The King Of Limbs, and Radiohead find again there the level they had achieved at their peak (1997-2007).

    Burn The Witch, Daydreaming, Decks Dark and The Present Tense are the album's most beautiful song, while True Love Waits might simply become the band's greatest track. Radiohead have managed to surprise everyone again, in a good way, which I started doubting they could do after their last effort in 2011.

    Thanks Radiohead for still being there and at your best !    … Expand
  6. Ceccon
    May 9, 2016
    10
    O album está incrível! Mudou um pouco do "habitual", porém continua fantástico. Para fãs (assim como eu) a primeira escuta você já se encanta logo de cara, pois as primeiras músicas são incrivelmente "gostosas" de serem ouvidas. Já para quem ainda não conhece o trabalho deles, procurem entender que a banda tem trabalhos e fases diferentes, não é sempre a mesma coisa, por tanto, se foremO album está incrível! Mudou um pouco do "habitual", porém continua fantástico. Para fãs (assim como eu) a primeira escuta você já se encanta logo de cara, pois as primeiras músicas são incrivelmente "gostosas" de serem ouvidas. Já para quem ainda não conhece o trabalho deles, procurem entender que a banda tem trabalhos e fases diferentes, não é sempre a mesma coisa, por tanto, se forem ouvir esse album e depois ouvirem outros mais antigos, não se assustem. THOM YORKE para presidente NOW!… Expand
  7. kylo_zen
    May 9, 2016
    10
    Not only is this the best Radiohead album, I can say without hyperbole that this may be the greatest album of all time. The boys have outdone themselves.
  8. RunAmok
    May 9, 2016
    10
    I really enjoyed The King Of Limbs, but I thought that the quality of the songs on that album suffers from a bizarre cut and paste production. AMSP's production luckily goes back to the layered tidy perfection of In Rainbows, and I think that this is the reason why it might be an easier listen even for newcomers.
    The songs on the album are subtle, melancholic, full and often orchestrated    I really enjoyed The King Of Limbs, but I thought that the quality of the songs on that album suffers from a bizarre cut and paste production. AMSP's production luckily goes back to the layered tidy perfection of In Rainbows, and I think that this is the reason why it might be an easier listen even for newcomers.
    The songs on the album are subtle, melancholic, full and often orchestrated (thanks Jonny) and generally up there with Radiohead's best work.
    The tone is more pastoral and as dreamy as some moments of TKOL, but overall it feels more cohesive.
    It's also a pleasure to finally have an edited official version of songs we've been listening to for years, such as True Love Waits, Present Tense, and they've all delivered.
    It's just what fans wanted to have, so much so that at moments it almost feels like fanservice, and of the best kind.    … Expand
  9. RadioHead_
    May 9, 2016
    10
    This album is absolutely incredible on the very first listen. Having now gone through it a half dozen times, I don't know which adjective to use now. The sheer emotion is sometimes hard to handle. The dreamscapes build and take you on a trippy journey. The use of synths and strings are remarkable. To think that this group is the same that produced Creep is really hard to comprehend....andThis album is absolutely incredible on the very first listen. Having now gone through it a half dozen times, I don't know which adjective to use now. The sheer emotion is sometimes hard to handle. The dreamscapes build and take you on a trippy journey. The use of synths and strings are remarkable. To think that this group is the same that produced Creep is really hard to comprehend....and I was blown away the first time I heard that track. This album will slowly creep into the listener's psyche with each listen. Some of the critic's scores will need to be re-considered I believe...a rare collection of songs that take on new meaning. It's an album for the headphones with your eyes closed. If you are able to shut off your logical brain, and forget the chaos and stress of your day, and actually just listen....you will surely be transported. The best album I have heard in a long, long time. Just an incredible band who dare to go to new places. Incredible !!… Expand
  10. purplecolored
    May 9, 2016
    10
    This album may not be for people with no prior knowledge or appreciation of Radioheads work, but there are certainly songs that can still appeal to the casual listener. It's their most solid and consistent album since In Rainbows and I can safely say it's up there with their better albums.
  11. aakjaer
    May 9, 2016
    10
    Possible the best album Radiohead ever made and far better than 'King of Limbs'. In a way it draws from all their previous albums like a calm, clarified and mature synthesis of everything they have accomplished so far. It's like Radiohead's 'Abbey Road'. What beautiful way to end it all if this should be their last album.
  12. sbernhoft
    May 9, 2016
    10
    This record is pretty close to perfect. On par with Radiohead's best work, this record seems more personal than anything they've released. Daydreaming, Glass Eyes, and True Love waits are stand-out tracks.
  13. Doll9
    May 9, 2016
    10
    This record is better than i dared hope, filled with beautiful string arrangements, moving vocal melodies and wonderful textures. There is no filler on this album at all. Style wise it's more ballads/orchestral/folk/electro mash up than rock but that doesn't mean theres no urgency, see Identikit, Burn the Witch and Ful Stop. All the new tracks totally stand up to the fan favourites. InThis record is better than i dared hope, filled with beautiful string arrangements, moving vocal melodies and wonderful textures. There is no filler on this album at all. Style wise it's more ballads/orchestral/folk/electro mash up than rock but that doesn't mean theres no urgency, see Identikit, Burn the Witch and Ful Stop. All the new tracks totally stand up to the fan favourites. In fact Present Tense is the song i enjoyed least because i was attached to an acoustic solo version i'd heard years ago, but it's still a good song. I thought their last album was solid but never warmed to it the way i have to this one in just 24hrs. I am very impressed.… Expand
  14. isatxe
    May 10, 2016
    10
    Is a very great album, very contemporenean, and orchestrator, amazing arrengements!! But is not a perfect album in global, for me two songs (Identikit & Ful Stop) can be out of the album, this two songs are the most guitar songs, and is better getting and more acustic, clasical, minimal orchestrator album, this two songs remember more to Amnesiac/Hail to the Thief, and is not necessary forIs a very great album, very contemporenean, and orchestrator, amazing arrengements!! But is not a perfect album in global, for me two songs (Identikit & Ful Stop) can be out of the album, this two songs are the most guitar songs, and is better getting and more acustic, clasical, minimal orchestrator album, this two songs remember more to Amnesiac/Hail to the Thief, and is not necessary for make a more innovaion album....And adding Spectre, and making any changes in the tracklist, then we get an amazing contemporanean album!! This is not an band album, you don't will see any simil to From the Basement of this album.

    Here you have, lisent this order an opin!!

    1. Burn the Witch
    2. Present Tense
    3. Glass Eyes
    4. Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief
    5. Spectre
    6. Daydreaming
    7. Decks Dark
    8. Desert Island Disk
    9. The Numbers
    10. true Love Waits    … Expand
  15. Hendrix11
    May 10, 2016
    10
    Radiohead always makes us think they are not going to be able to surpass themselves, but they always do, this albums is easily one of the best works they have done in their artistic career, not exactly a breakthrough album but a beautiful mixture of orchestration by johnny greenwood, electronic experimentation, and majestic lyrics by thom yorke, that make up a sonic experience that isRadiohead always makes us think they are not going to be able to surpass themselves, but they always do, this albums is easily one of the best works they have done in their artistic career, not exactly a breakthrough album but a beautiful mixture of orchestration by johnny greenwood, electronic experimentation, and majestic lyrics by thom yorke, that make up a sonic experience that is accesible, extremely emotional, and a really cohesive collection of songs that sum up what radiohead has been its entire career: musical perfection.… Expand
  16. 8-bit-waffle
    May 10, 2016
    10
    This album gives a Radiohead fan everything he needs from complex lyrics to catchy choruses. I feel that this album is better than their last LP king of limbs by a long shot.
  17. dro
    May 10, 2016
    10
    As a longtime Radiohead fan, AMSP is exactly what I was hoping for, but was afraid the band could never accomplish at this point in their career. However, they exceeded expectations again. This album is their best work since Kid A and includes some of their best songs to date, including Ful Stop, Present Tense, Glass Eyes, and The Numbers.
  18. baian
    May 10, 2016
    10
    Give this album the necessary plays and it's beauty will eventually sucker punch you in the gut. This is up there with their best. How this band continues to evolve their sound and produce such amazing albums is beyond me.
  19. CMongler
    May 10, 2016
    10
    A Moon Shaped Pool is phenomenal. It’s incredibly dark, harrowing, emotional, and at times, hard to listen to because of it. But it’s a classic Radiohead album through and through, so distinctly unique in sound and timbre as listeners have come to expect from a new Radiohead album, yet still familiar, and fitting, for the band that created favorites such as Kid A, OK Computer, or In Rainbows.
  20. hugey
    May 10, 2016
    10
    Everything it promised and more. I was moved to tears by the singles and the full album, as usual, will take weeks or months to digest fully. This makes it even harder to rate their work by installation. Breathtaking, beautiful, orchestral. Sets the benchmark for a new era of Radiohead and music at large.
  21. lubor108
    May 10, 2016
    10
    The more you hear the album, the better the music is. Profound layers of a perfect sound, no rush, slow and clear tones. This is a future of music even if it means the end of rock'n'roll.
  22. DanielT
    May 11, 2016
    10
    I am completely surprised by this album. I knew they were going to come out with something that I have never heard before, but this just blew me away. I am a huge fan of the band, and have been for upwards of a 2 decades. I had high hopes, and they were exceeded. Definitely one of their most complete sounding albums.
  23. telomerase
    May 11, 2016
    10
    radiohead's most successful experiment of musical genre assimilation that it's been attempting since 2003's hail to the thief, with an added orchestral-folk direction . more thrilling, varied, and musically and emotionally complex than in rainbows. big win.
  24. jamboree
    May 12, 2016
    10
    Beautiful, subtle, dark and haunting are all apt adjectives to describe this album. I am left speechless by how powerful the overall production is. The songs are heavily layered with guitars, pianos, and various orchestral elements. Nigel Godrich, informally known as the "sixth member", deserves major props for his work here. The pace/tempo of the whole album may seem a little slow atBeautiful, subtle, dark and haunting are all apt adjectives to describe this album. I am left speechless by how powerful the overall production is. The songs are heavily layered with guitars, pianos, and various orchestral elements. Nigel Godrich, informally known as the "sixth member", deserves major props for his work here. The pace/tempo of the whole album may seem a little slow at first, but it will surely grow on you with repeated listens. It takes a while to fully digest but it is well worth the reward. "Decks Dark", "identikit", "The Numbers", and "Present Tense" are my personal highlights. It is best listened to on quality headphones relaxing in a quiet space (I am using Sennheiser HD 595's)… Expand
  25. personpitch85
    May 12, 2016
    10
    Great album! Radiohead know how to really push out their vision through their albums. From start to finish one of the cohesive albums. Very somber feel but amazing.
  26. dherrerap
    May 12, 2016
    10
    A masterpiece, the instrumentations and the orquestation is pretty amazing, it complements with the voice of thom in a incredible way. Daydreaming, Idiotik, The numbers are incredible tracks.
  27. Identity1051
    May 13, 2016
    10
    This is a perfect album which flows like a dream with every song deserving it's place. As with Radiohead's other masterpieces, they set clear boundaries around sound and texture and then let the songs and creativity flourish within those boundaries. The sound here is breathtaking; using electronics sparsely and more relying on melody, subtlety in song writing and a magnificent orchestralThis is a perfect album which flows like a dream with every song deserving it's place. As with Radiohead's other masterpieces, they set clear boundaries around sound and texture and then let the songs and creativity flourish within those boundaries. The sound here is breathtaking; using electronics sparsely and more relying on melody, subtlety in song writing and a magnificent orchestral score to back the whole thing and sweep through a world of emotional range.

    Lyrically each song hits deeply and personally - Whether its the impending doom and darkness of Decks Dark, the loss of love in Glass Eyes, Daydreaming, Present Tense, True love Waits or the call to arms for environmentalists in desert island disk and the numbers the album moves you and in a way that is always interesting and perhaps challenging for some who are first listening to radiohead. Identikit masters the subtlety of Thom Yorke's songwriting with "Broken Hearts Make it Rain" being exploited to the maximum as both a catchy hook and an almost self mocking take on the rest of the album. And to finish with a song over 20 years in the making delivered in such an understated way shows the genius of this band,

    Musically Jonny Greenwood's compositions move each song to maximise its full meaning, providing moments of darkness, drama, shading, colour and light at the right moments: from the chomping intro of burn the witch, through to the sweeping outro of daydreaming, the choir in Decks Dark, and so on until roaring into the second verse of The Numbers, being played to perfection in Present Tense and going for a Bondesque finale in Tinker Tailor. But the subtle swirling piano in Glass Eyes and True Love Waits stands out for me in this album of absolute defeat in the face of heartache.

    I would love to write forever about it and my thoughts long exceed this impromptu review, but I had to give this the 10/10 it richly deserves.

    Masterpiece.    … Expand
  28. thenarrowland
    May 13, 2016
    10
    C'è la solita, magnificente produzione di Nigel Godrich, stratificata e profonda, che riesce a rendere il passaggio più semplice un pozzo di luce. C'è il talento avantgarde in continua espansione di Jonny Greenwood, che qui crea alcuni degli arazzi orchestrali più belli che si siano mai ascoltati in un disco pop/rock. C'è il lato cantautorale di Yorke, che con poche pennellate dipingeC'è la solita, magnificente produzione di Nigel Godrich, stratificata e profonda, che riesce a rendere il passaggio più semplice un pozzo di luce. C'è il talento avantgarde in continua espansione di Jonny Greenwood, che qui crea alcuni degli arazzi orchestrali più belli che si siano mai ascoltati in un disco pop/rock. C'è il lato cantautorale di Yorke, che con poche pennellate dipinge canzoni cristalline e intense, mai complesse e mai banali, con testi sempre aperti alle più disparate intrepretazioni; il comparto ritmico, sullo sfondo rispetto al passato, non è mai comunque banale o trascurato. Quindi: è un disco dei Radiohead. Quello che a questo giro è diverso, è la tipologia di emozioni espresse. Sembra che, costantemente come sono alla ricerca di qualcosa di grande, i Radiohead si siano finalmente lasciati alle spalle l'angoscia esistenziale che finora ha caratterizzato, in modalità espressive di volta in volta rinnovate, tutta la loro produzione. Per la prima volta, ciò che rimane è una nuda, struggente malinconia, un senso di calma accettazione, un'attenzione più per le sfumature, le piccole cose che la catarsi dirompente di canzoni come Karma Police, How to Disappear Completely, All I Need, Separator. Ma non assomiglia affatto a un punto di arrivo. Per Thom Yorke e compagnia, il cammino prosegue. E il bello sta proprio nel non avere la più pallida idea di quali lande toccheranno la prossima volta.… Expand
  29. EladFleeb
    May 13, 2016
    10
    A Moon Shaped pool is the sum of what Radiohead have been building up towards with their past few Albums,
    In the form of what sounds like a relaxed, Well recorded jam session inside a Tornado, It blends edgy and romantic very well and creates a cohesive atmosphere to this beautifully written and sung songs.
  30. olinobnizov
    May 14, 2016
    10
    There's a timelessness to this album. It sounds like it could have been recorded anytime in the past ten decades. It's also the most Godrich influenced album they've ever made. You can hear the similarities between this and Beck's Sea Change and Here We Go Magic's Different Ship, both of which Godrich produced.

    Godrich tweeted right after the album came "It's out! Making this album was    There's a timelessness to this album. It sounds like it could have been recorded anytime in the past ten decades. It's also the most Godrich influenced album they've ever made. You can hear the similarities between this and Beck's Sea Change and Here We Go Magic's Different Ship, both of which Godrich produced.

    Godrich tweeted right after the album came "It's out! Making this album was a very intense experience for me. I lost my dad in the process...Hence a large piece of my soul lives here.." You can feel that on this album. Also Thom's divorce.

    But it's not sad. Overall its a peaceful, gentle album. It makes me feel like I'm a little kid sticking my hand out of the car window to make my hand fly.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

8
#8 Best Album of 2016
8
#8 Most Discussed Album of 2016
11
#11 Most Shared Album of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 43 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 43
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 43
  3. Negative: 0 out of 43
  1. Austin Chronicle
    Aug 11, 2016
    89
    Gone are any remnants of yesteryear's "rock music" ideology, thrusting Radiohead into a mature state of potentially their best work still to come.
    Read full review
  2. Magnet
    Aug 9, 2016
    90
    This is Radiohead's deepest, darkest pool of devotion and doubt in a career marked by almost nothing but. [No. 133, p.51]
  3. Uncut
    Jun 21, 2016
    90
    There's a lighter, more hopeful bent to the musical settings, which perfectly balance the more dissonant leanings of The King Of Limbs with a sumptuousness and gentleness they've rarely sought since OK Computer. [Aug 2016, p.81]
See all critic reviews »