On April 18, 2011, every person who purchased the newest Radiohead album through their website up to that date and time received an email titled "Thank You." Upon opening, they thanked their fans for buying the album and directed them to a section on their site where they could download two songs for free, "Supercollider" and "The Butcher." Initially, these songs were planned for a vinyl-only release to coincide with Record Store Day this spring. Their continued generosity remains unmatched by any band of such magnitude. Although neither song will pique interest outside of completists, when viewed as a stand alone single in the classic A-side B-side format Supercollider/The Butcher acts as a token of appreciation to the most loyal fan base in the world.
Interestingly enough, neither song resembles anything on The King of Limbs, although they were recorded either during or directly after the sessions for the album. "Supercollider," easily the better of the two, waivers about for seven minutes. The glitchiness, machinated percussion and augmenting electric piano immediately conjure their Hail To The Thief days with a smidge of the electronics from Yorke's solo effort The Eraser. Yorke shows off his vocal skills throughout the song and Colin Greenwood supplies a great bass line that acts in tandem with the piano. Despite both of those things "Supercollider," feels just a little half-baked, at least for Radiohead.
B-side "The Butcher" fares a touch worse. Phil Selway lays down a great tribal drum beat and complementary shuffles, but the song bumbles about and never establishes anything worthy of memory. Perhaps Yorke would have been better off developing this track as a solo act or with his recently formed Atoms For Peace project. Overall, Radiohead deserves more accolades for the altruism of this release than the music itself. And while that may sound striking for a band of such high regards, no need to worry about a few cast offs presented as gifts. Consider "Supercollider/The Butcher" as such and look forward to their next surprise.
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