Radiohead replaced digital flexibility with analog erasure — and made their most exposed record by refusing to undo a single decision.
A Moon Shaped Pool is Radiohead’s ninth studio album, released in 2016. It features Jonny Greenwood’s orchestral arrangements, includes older material such as 'True Love Waits', and incorporates strings and choral vocals by the London Contemporary Orchestra. The album was released digitally in May 2016 and physically in June via XL Recordings. Its sessions were affected by personal events including Nigel Godrich's father's death and Thom Yorke's separation from and later loss of his wife Rachel Owen, who died from cancer in 2016. The album was promoted with music videos for 'Daydreaming' and 'Burn the Witch' and received critical acclaim, appearing on year-end best-album lists and earning Grammy nominations including Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rock Song for 'Burn the Witch'. It became Radiohead's sixth UK number-one album and reached number three in the US. It was also nominated for the Mercury Prize, making Radiohead the most shortlisted act in Mercury history. The album was recorded at La Fabrique studio near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, after initial work began in September 2014. Radiohead had previously attempted to write a theme for the James Bond film Spectre, but both submissions were rejected and later released independently. The album's release marked a return to more emotionally resonant and less cynical lyrical themes compared to earlier works, conveying wonder and amazement rather than alienation or political anger. It was followed by extensive touring across Europe, Japan, and North and South America, featuring Clive Deamer on drums until 2018, and later Chris Vatalaro on the 2025 tour. The album's production involved long-standing collaborators Nigel Godrich (producer), Stanley Donwood (cover artist), and Paul Thomas Anderson (music video director).
Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief5:03
11
True Love Waits4:43
Film placements are the ones described in each film's own entry, so the list is partial rather than complete.
Worth your time?
Yes. Hear the whole thing.
4.5/ 5
What works
The string-and-choir arrangements land with weight and space.
'Burn the Witch' lands with percussive urgency and stop-motion precision.
'True Love Waits' lands as a distilled, long-held resolution.
The analog tape texture lands as a consistent sonic grain across all eleven tracks.
What does not
It does not deliver forward momentum.
It does not privilege groove or repetition.
It does not isolate individual instruments for display.
It does not use digital editing to refine or correct — rerecording meant erasure.
Hear it if
People who listen for arrangement density and textural contrast.
People who value constraint as a compositional tool.
People who hear strings not as decoration but as structural material.
Skip it if
People who rely on verse-chorus propulsion or lyrical directness.
The written brief1 min read
What the record is and where it came from
A Moon Shaped Pool is Radiohead’s ninth studio album, released digitally in May 2016 and physically in June via XL Recordings. It was recorded across RAK Studios in London, Radiohead’s Oxfordshire studio, and La Fabrique in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France.
How it sounds, and how it was made
It sounds like strings, choir, piano, and electronics recorded to analog tape, with no digital nonlinearity. Tape-slowing shapes ‘Daydreaming’. Max-based piano manipulation defines ‘Glass Eyes’. Vocal loops anchor ‘Identikit’. Jonny Greenwood’s arrangements dominate. The London Contemporary Orchestra performs all orchestral and choral parts. Rerecording erased prior takes — decisions were irreversible.
What lands
The string-and-choir arrangements land with weight and space. ‘Burn the Witch’ lands with percussive urgency and stop-motion precision. ‘True Love Waits’ lands as a distilled, long-held resolution. The analog tape texture lands as a consistent sonic grain across all eleven tracks.
What does not
It does not deliver forward momentum. It does not privilege groove or repetition. It does not isolate individual instruments for display. It does not use digital editing to refine or correct — rerecording meant erasure.
The ideas inside it
Heartbreak. Climate change. Authority. Thom Yorke’s personal upheaval during recording grounds the lyrics. The album conveys wonder and amazement rather than alienation or political anger. It avoids cynicism in favour of emotional exposure.
Who should hear it, and who should not
People who listen for arrangement density and textural contrast. People who value constraint as a compositional tool. People who hear strings not as decoration but as structural material. Not people who rely on verse-chorus propulsion or lyrical directness.
Is it worth your time
Yes, if you want orchestral texture fused with electronic restraint, and if you respond to music made under deliberate physical limits. No, if you need rhythmic drive, vocal clarity, or instrumental virtuosity as a foreground feature.