Musical pioneers Radiohead dropped a bombshell on fans this morning by announcing the release of an unexpected eighth studio album, The King of Limbs, this Saturday.
It will be the band’s first album since 2007’s In Rainbows, which they famously released in a ‘pay what you want’ online experiment.
Fans will be able to get their hands on either a digital or physical version, which the band are describing as “the world’s first Newspaper Album.”
Exactly what this means is unclear, but it may refer to the stack of artwork promised to accompany it, including “many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradable plastic to hold it all together.”
It also contains two vinyl records as well as a compact disc and digital download.
The concept may be a canny way of encouraging music-lovers to embrace physical records in an age when digital reigns supreme.
Both versions of the album can be pre-ordered now at kingoflimbs.com.