WITH all the hype surrounding Radiohead's revolutionary distribution technique of providing an honesty box online so fans can decide how much their record is worth . . . and the repercussions that has for the music industry . . . you could almost have forgotten the music.

Almost. But In Rainbows, Radiohead's best album in seven years doesn't allow for that. "This one's optimistic, " Thom Yorke sung on track six of their groundbreaking fourth album Kid A in 2000. And since then, the band delved into a dark journey aiming to become more complex, more adventurous, more affected than their indie peers.

It may come as a surprise then, four years in the making, Radiohead have produced a rather simple record. There are no fireworks, no slaps on the face, no 'oh my god, what have they done' headlines screaming from music magazines that greeted both Ok Computer and Kid A.

It sounds like a band who have calmed down.

There is a sense of comfort throughout, summed up by a song that has been around for the best part of a decade, 'Nude', finally making the cut.

After a false start with the hasty '15 Step' and the angry 'Bodysnatchers', In Rainbows shows its colours. Almost every track is stripped of busyness and instead, acoustic guitars, strings and a mellowness reign. Radiohead has substituted ambition and density with beauty. 'House Of Cards' is one of the most perfect, most tender tracks they've ever written. 'All I Need' and 'Faust Arp' are two incredibly soothing songs. And the softness conspires to create that quality that a good Radiohead album always had: to transport you into their headspace. "Today has been the most perfect day I've ever seen, " announces the final track 'Videotape', summing up a band at peace with their talents and their creation.

Download: 'House of Cards', 'Videotape', 'Nude'