When Radiohead released The King of Limbs earlier this year, it fell short of expectations. Still considered to be a viable addition to the Radiohead canon, the letdown came from the direction in which the band took the album. A remix compilation featuring some of Thom Yorke’s favourite producers, TKOL RMX 1234567 seemed to be a fresh and promising way to experience and explore The King of Limbs. Sadly, tkol rmx fails to deliver this experience.
The problem with tkol rmx is that too few of the 19 tracks preserve the feeling of rhythm found on the original album. Many of the remixes scrap the basic framework in an attempt to explore new directions, creating meaningless ambient tracks that are neither particularly interesting nor enjoyable. Despite these concerns, a few tracks stand apart from the others. One memorable example is Caribou’s take on “Little by Little,” which blends percussive elements of the original with bright piano and looping vocals.
Rather than being an exciting musical experience, tkol rmx is totally disappointing. In the end, it feels like little care was taken with many of these tracks, and the result is an unfortunate, mostly dull and tedious effort to listen to.